The journey of Paul Atreides in Frank Herbert’s Dune is one of the most beloved storylines in all of science fiction, but according to Dune and Dune: Part Two director Denis Villeneuve, it’s also a journey that is regularly misinterpreted. Given the conclusion of the original Dune novel, Villeneuve recently recalled the “tragedy” of the finale and how he borrowed elements of the sequel novel Dune: Messiah into Dune: Part Two in hopes of reflecting to audiences the power of Paul’s decisions. While Villeneuve has regularly expressed his interest in adapting Messiah into a film, it has yet to officially be confirmed, while he notes that Herbert used the book as an epilogue to Paul’s journey to clear up any misconceptions. Dune: Part Two is set to hit theaters on March 1st.
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“When Frank Herbert wrote Dune, he was disappointed at how people perceived Paul,” Villeneuve shared with Entertainment Weekly. “In his mind, Dune was a cautionary tale — a warning against charismatic figures. He felt that Paul was perceived as a hero, when he wanted to do the opposite. So in order to correct that, he wrote Dune Messiah, a kind of epilogue that makes it very clear this story is not a victory, it’s a tragedy.”
He continued, “With humility, I hope that this adaptation is closer to Frank Herbert’s original intentions … I used Chani’s character to do so. I gave her a different agenda, and used her to bring a different perspective to the story.”
The dense and complex narrative of Dune caused Villeneuve to break up the story into two parts, with the first showing the downfall of the Atreides family and the second film set to show Paul’s attempts to regain power in the universe. Zendaya’s character Chani only has a handful of scenes in the first Dune, and while the sequel will see her develop a relationship with Timothée Chalamet’s Paul, Chani’s role will also help showcase the tragedy of the story.
“That was more exciting for me to play because it was a little more complicated,” Zendaya confirmed. “It’s harder for her to love this person because of what they represent to her and her having to get over that. It’s constantly something that she’s battling inside of herself. That gave me something more to hold on to, and I really appreciated that. It was fun to figure out and live with her a little bit longer because a week wasn’t enough!”
Dune: Part Two hits theaters on March 1st.
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