MOVIE NEWS – Denis Villeneuve has said that Dune 2 will correct a problem in the original book that caused severe disappointment to the author, Frank Herbert.
There was one thing about the Dune books that disappointed the author, Frank Herbert. Dune 2 (officially Dune: Part Two) is meant to fix this. The sequel arrives three years after the release of Dune and continues the story of Paul Atreides’ rise in galactic politics. As he continues to gather support among the Fremen, Paul’s journey to avenge his father may well lead him down a path of conquest.
Dune: Part Two’s story leads directly to Herbert’s Dune Messiah’s plot, but director Denis Villeneuve doesn’t plan to have the same surprising twist as Herbert’s book.
Instead, he plans that the sequel won’t be as necessary as it originally was. Villeneuve explained his goals for Dune Messiah and how he plans to change the story of Dune 2 to express Herbert’s intentions better.
“When Frank Herbert wrote the book, and then when the book came out, he was disappointed by how people perceived Paul Atreides. At the time, he felt that people were talking about Paul as a hero, and for him, he was an anti-hero. He was a dark figure. The book was a warning for him about a Messianic figure.”
“For that, he wrote Dune Messiah to correct [that] and to make sure that people understood his intention.”
“I knew that story. I had the benefit of having read Dune Messiah, so I wrote Part 2 having that in mind. That is why Chani’s character is slightly different in my adaptation than in the book, and it helped me to bring the initial intention of Frank Herbert to the screen.”
Paul Atreides is not a hero – which may be revealed in Dune 2
Paul, known as the Kwisatz Haderach and Lisan al Gaib, is a prophesied figure of great power. He is among the few whose influence and abilities rival the Emperor’s. The Fremen see him as a figure of fame. With his doom as a rallying point, he is able to gain the loyalty of the Fremen and even has the ability to ride sandworms as quickly as any Fremen. Despite all that, he is no hero.
Instead of working to depose the Emperor and dethrone him, Paul was more interested in his mission of revenge.
He wants to remove the Emperor so that he can take his seat. Even as a messiah, his interests were always aligned with his own selfish desires. As much as the Fremen support him, Paul was raised in a position of power and may be unable to recognize their struggle. He seeks to use them as tools for his own gain rather than as a people who need his support.
Paul is also a character who wants to be adored and respected. Instead of acting like a hero and working to improve the galaxy, he wants power and influence. He wants to use the Fremen to force others to obey his whims. Paul sees himself as a saviour in many ways, which comes with the otherness of the Fremen. While Herbert failed to fully communicate this moral issue in Dune, Dune: Part Two must fully incorporate Paul’s darker side.
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