Dune: Part Two is now out in theaters and IMAX, and after all the attention that was paid to the production of this second chapter of Denis Villeneuve’s epic re-imaging of Frank Herbert’s Dune, there are some notable absences in the theatrical cut of the film.
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Now, reports are confirming that some of the cast and characters we expected to see in Dune 2 indeed got cut from the film.
The Characters Cut Out of Dune 2 Explained (SPOILERS)s
Tim Blake Nelson (Captain America: New World Order) was touted as being in Dune: Part Two, but playing an “undisclosed role” in the film. He definitely filmed scenes for the film; however, even through the extensive runtime of Dune: Part Two, it’s hard not to notice that Nelson never appears onscreen. For more on who he was likely playing, read below.
A Fremen character, Harah, was also cut from Dune 2‘s story. Harah was the wife of Jamis (Babs Olusanmokun), the Fremen warrior that Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) killed in a duel at the end of the first film. In the Dune novel, Fremen custom demands that Harah become either Paul’s wife or servant for a year – and he makes her the latter. Dune 2 already has to do some strange turns with Paul’s romantic life, so dropping this character arc was understandable.
Finally, a character from Dune (2021) was cut from the sequel: Thufir Hawat (Stephen McKinley Henderson), the living computer or “Mentat” of House Atreides. Henderson filmed scenes for the sequel, but like Tim Blake Nelson, those scenes were ultimately cut. Both Nelson and Henderson get special thanks from the director in the credits.
Who Was Tim Blake Nelson Playing In Dune 2?
The most popular theory was that Nelson took on the role of Count Hasimir Fenring, a minor but still somewhat pivotal character in Herbert’s Dune novel. Fenring was one of the best assassins and fighters in the Imperium – but also one of failed candidates to become “Kwisatz Haderach,” an all-powerful, all-seeing Bene Gesserit male figure, produced through the Gesserit’s secret breeding campaign. Fenring was the closest friend and advisor to Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV, who he was linked to through family marriage, and was one of Shaddam’s agents in helping prepare, execute, and the Harkonnen coup on Arrakis that brought down House Atreides. Fenring was one of the only characters able keep himself invisible from the prescience power (clairvoyant view of past, present, and/or future) possessed by Paul Atreides and some Bene Gesserit women, during the final showdown between Paul “Muad’Dib,” his Fremen army, and the forces of Shaddam and Baron Harkonnen, Fenring makes the key decision not to assassinate Paul for Shaddam, and instead followed the dethroned Emperor into exile.
It’s easy to understand cutting Tim Blake Nelson’s scenes as Count Fenring from Dune 2: Denis Villeneuve’s version of the story smartly avoids overcomplicating the mystical lore of Herbert’s universe – especially when it comes to the Bene Gesserit and the details of how gender influences their power. A character like Count Fenring would raise too many comparisons and questions for a bit character with limited screen time; instead, we get more of Léa Seydoux as his wife, Lady Margot Fenring, whose part in the Bene Gesserit plot – stoking the psychotic ambition fo Harkonnen leader Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) fit much more logically within the subplot of Lady Jessica and the Reverend Mother’s chess game to control the Bene Gesserit prophecy of the Kwisatz Haderach.
Who Is Thufir Hawat?
Like Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin), Hawat survives the fall of House Atreides and we last some him as the prisoner of Baron Harkonnen. In the Dune novel, Hawat becomes a tragic double agent, working to undermine House Harkonnen from the inside, but also being used as a resource by the Baron against the Fremen leader “Muad’Dib,” whom he doesn’t know is Paul – as well as Lady Jessica, whom he wrongly thought a traitor. Hawat is ultimately used as an assassin to poison Muad’Dib, but when he realizes it’s Paul, he chooses to turn the needle on himself and reclaims his honor through ultimate loyalty to House Atreides.
Do the Character Cuts Change Dune’s Story?
Obviously, having a story where two characters (Fenring and Hawat) ultimately come close to, but choose not to, assassinate Paul was a redundancy that Dune: Part Two didn’t need. That’s not to mention the time required to convey one or both of these characters’ stories would’ve stretched Dune 2‘s runtime and character focus beyond the limits.
That said, the character omissions don’t change the story of Dune too much to be egregious in any way – and it’s only Hawat who likely wouldn’t have an opportunity to appear in Dune 3. Count Fenring and his immunity to prescience become a much bigger story thread in later Dune books, so his time with the Emperor in exile could be focused on in the threequel.
The same is true for Harah, who grows into a more pivotal supporting character in the franchise: She ends up being the caretaker of Lady Jessica’s daughter (Paul’s sister) Alia and later generations of Atreides kids. Harah also becomes Stilgar’s (Javier Bardem) wife and partner during Paul’s messiah war – as well as becoming the best female friend of Chani (Zendaya). There’s still plenty of room for Harah to be a major Fremen supporting character in the portions of Dune 3 that would still be set on Arrakis.
Dune 2 is now in theaters.
