Warning: This article contains spoilers for Dune Part Two.
Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel Dune was the sci-fi story that inspired all others. Considered unadaptable by many, Denis Villeneuve has found a way.
The director’s first crack at Dune premiered in 2021, and stuck strongly to the source material. After House Atreides accepts stewardship over the desert planet Arrakis, they come to learn there is a terrible plot to eradicate their line. Meanwhile, young Paul (Timotheé Chalamet) learns that he is the result of a breeding program meant to bring about a powerful mind known as the Kwisatz Haderach.
Dune only spans the first half of the novel, which concludes after Paul and his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) find refuge with Arrakis’ people, the Fremen. Dune Part Two picks up exactly where the first leaves off as the Fremen journey to Sietch Tabr. But quite quickly, it becomes clear that Villeneuve made creative choices that strengthened the film while still veering away from the book.
1. Jamis
Jamis’ (Babs Olusanmokun) time in the book is short, but his death reverberates throughout the story. Villeneuve does this in Dune Part Two, though in a different way. In the book, Paul kills Jamis and, by Fremen rule, inherits his belongings and Yali — including Jamis’ wife, Harah. Paul does not accept her as a wife, but she remains a part of his household. This part is absent in the movie, though Jamis is still remembered.
Throughout both films, Paul has visions about Jamis. He first views the Fremen as a friend who will show him the way of the desert. Paul does learn from Jamis, though not as he expects. Jamis teaches him the Amtal Rule, which is a trial by combat. Paul learns the way of the desert through the duel and the funeral rites that follow. Even after his death, Paul continues to have visions of the warrior. Jamis continues to be a guide for Paul as he learns how to survive.
2. Princess Irulan
In both the book and the film, Princess Irulan is a figure in the background but has fingerprints over the events of the series. The first Dune book is separated into sections, which are noted in-story by Irulan. The book contains excerpts from historical books that detail Paul’s rise to power. However, it is only at the end that she appears as a background figure who Paul chooses as his bride.
In the film, Florence Pugh has slightly more time. She still retains her historical significance, but has more of a hand in her destiny. She realizes that Paul survives the slaughter of his House on Arrakis and that her father is doomed. Her only way of surviving is marrying the usuper. Should Dune Messiah come to fruition, she will have much more to do.
3. Lady Jessica
Jessica is defined in many ways. Mother. Concubine. Bene Gesserit. She is undoubtedly powerful, the architect of Paul’s destiny, but that comes even more to the forefront in the film. After being accepted by the Fremen, she endures the spice agony to become their Reverend Mother.
Instead of fading into the background as she does in the books, Jessica takes a much more active role. Ingesting the Water of Life gives her all the memories of the Reverend Mothers before her, and she doubles down on Paul as the Kwisatz Haderach. She rallies the fundamentalists into seeing Paul as the Lisan al Gaib, ultimately pushing him to where she wants him to go. He takes the Water of Life and, because of Jessica, accepts his terrible purpose.
4. Alia Atreides
Alia Atreides, also known as St. Alia of the Knife, is a complicated character to get into live action. Because Jessica takes the Water of Life while pregnant, Alia also reaps the consequences. She receives the visions of a Reverend Mother and, after she is born, becomes fully sentient.
At only four years old, she has the personality of an adult, and is in charge of her own forces. The film doesn’t delve too deeply into this, though there are significant implications for Dune Messiah. Jessica is still pregnant at the end of Dune Part Two, and converses with Alia in the womb. While Alia is not born in the film, she is sure to have a large presence in a follow-up.
5. Baron Harkonnen’s Death
Changing Alia’s trajectory also changes the fate of Baron Harkonnen’s (Stellan Skarsgård). Albeit, only slightly. In the books, Alia allows herself to be captured by the Emperor to carry out the final plans of the Lisan al Gaib. Aware that the Baron is her maternal grandfather, she assassinates him with the Gom Jabbar. As intriguing as a prospect this is in the book, this would have been slightly difficult to carry out in live action.
In Dune Part Two, Paul is the one to kill Harkonnen. After overtaking the Emperor’s ship with his Fremen warriors, Paul arrives to finally get revenge for his father. While this varies from the source material, it does put a fine point on Paul’s character arc, and Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac) becomes avenged.
6. The Harkonnen Spy
As with many adaptations, minor plots get axed. This is the case of the suspicions around Lady Jessica. Her allegiance to the Bene Gesserit makes many people uneasy around her, especially after Duke Leto’s death.
Multiple characters in the book suspect that she had no true love for Leto, and was put in place so his assassination could take place. Of course, the spy is revealed to be the doctor, Yueh (Chang Chen). In Dune Part Two, this plot is completely removed to make space for other more significant story beats.
7. Thufir Hawat
In a tragic turn of events, Stephen McKinley Henderson does not reprise his role as Thufir Hawat in Dune Part Two. House Atreides mentat and head of security, Thufir supports Duke Leto’s desire for desert power and feels responsible for the attack on Paul’s life via the hunter-seeker. Henderson filmed scenes for the sequel, which were left on the cutting room floor.
In the books, Thufir is one of the few who suspects Lady Jessica of duplicity. He also has his own subplot of weaving discord between the Baron and his nephew, Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler). After being taken prisoner during the siege on Arrakis, the Baron forces him to advise him by giving him poison for which only he has the antidote. Thufir uses this position to pit the Harokonnen and the na-Baron against each other. Regrettably, we don’t get to see Henderson in such a nuanced role, one of the many drawbacks of trying to fit a close to 800-page book into two movies.
8. Chani
To start – yes, Chani (Zendaya) is significantly different in the books. But to Villeneuve’s credit, that is a good thing. In the books, Chani is essentially a passive figure. Though she leads Paul in Fremen customs and becomes his concubine, she has little else to do. She is a true believer in the prophecy, and never questions Paul for a moment.
This angle had to change for the film adaptation. To completely sell Paul’s villain era, audiences needed to see someone question him. Ironically enough, this makes Chani’s relationship with Paul even more layered. Chani falls in love with Paul in spite of herself. She sees everything the Bene Gesserit do to plant him in power, but falls for Paul’s sincerity. This, of course, comes crashing down after Paul chooses the Water of Life. He becomes the very thing Chani asked him not to be — something other than himself. This fractures a relationship that remains static in the books.
9. Leto II
The changes to Chani in the film affect another character from the books — her child with Paul, Leto II. Their first is born during the desert war, which is slightly truncated in the film. There was no time for Chani and Paul’s relationship to be established as well as having their son.
Additionally, there was no emotional space for audiences to then experience Leto II’s death on top of that. In the book, Paul and Chani’s son dies at the hands of the Sardaukar during the destruction of Seitch Tabr. Villeuenve spared audiences the death of a baby by changing these events.
10. The End of Chani and Paul
By giving Chani more of a leading role, her relationship with Paul changes to quite a degree. After taking the Water of Life and defeating Feyd-Rautha, Paul has become someone she doesn’t recognize. He still loves her but has to strengthen his claim.
To do that, he must marry Princess Irulan. The book ends with Jessica telling Chani that while Paul will marry a princess, history will remember Chani as his true wife. Dune Two ends on a heartbreaking note, with Chani leaving Paul to his paradise.
