Hero, villain or something in between? The world of Dune leaves room for your own interpretation. Image source: Warner Bros.
Am February 29, 2024 Dune 2 is starting in Europe cinemas and fans of the book are likely to be so impatient that they would rather count sandworms instead of sheep every night before they go to sleep.
Compared to the original book, director Denis Villeneuve changes an important aspect of the story in part 2 of his cinema series planned as a trilogy. And that would probably have been in the spirit of Dune creator Frank Herbert.
What exactly is it about? We’ll tell you now. From this point on, please beware of spoilers regarding both the Dune book series and the movies. Continue reading at your own risk!
The Dune successor was already in mind when writing the script
Denis Villeneuve has opposite Screenrant described how he wanted to come as close as possible to Frank Herbert’s original intention. According to Villeneuve, the author was never impressed by the fact that many readers saw Paul Atreides as a hero.
When Frank Herbert wrote the book and it came out, he was disappointed with how people perceived Paul Atreides. At the time, he felt that people saw Paul as a hero, and to him he was an anti-hero. He was a dark figure. The book was intended to be a warning about a messianic figure.
And that’s why he rewrote Dune Messiah [das] to correct and make sure people understood his intent. I knew this story. I had the benefit of having read Dune Messiah, so I wrote Part 2 with that in mind. That’s why Chani’s character is slightly different in my adaptation than in the book, and that helped me bring Frank Herbert’s original intent to the screen.
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Paul Atreides is driven by revenge
Although Paul’s noble origins and the loss of his homeland are reminiscent of the beginning of a classic hero’s journey, his plans are not.
As is well known, Paul Atreides wants to overthrow the Emperor – but not out of a noble desire, but rather pure desire for revenge and with the aim to then ascend the throne himself. He also sees his collaboration with the Fremen as a means to an end.
That mentioned in the interview Dune Messiah was published in 1969 and was deliberately written by Frank Herbert to shed more light on the dark side of Paul Atreides.
Spoiler warning part 2: Please only continue reading from here if you know all of the Dune books.
In Dune Messiah we finally learn what happens after Paul Atreides takes the throne. As the new emperor, he does not ensure peace, instead he starts a holy crusade himself, twelve years after his coronation has already cost the lives of 61 billion people.
As is well known, Denis Villeneuve is planning a third Dune film. Will we possibly even see Paul Atreides in the role of the antagonist in the third film?
It will probably be a few years before we find out. In a few weeks, however, we will be able to visit the desert planet again in Dune 2 and get an idea of whether Paul Atreides actually comes across as a clear anti-hero. As Dune fans, how would you describe his character? Feel free to write us your views in the comments!
