Does Paul Atreides turn into a worm in ‘Dune?’

Now that the much-anticipated Dune: Part 2 has come into our lives, people are ravenous to find out what happens next. For those who don’t know, Dune is an adaptation of one of the most celebrated science fiction franchises in history, by a brilliant man named Frank Herbert. Herbert published Dune in 1965 and it quickly became a phenomenon. With all this interest, people have heard rumors of the direction of the story and many are curious: does Paul Atreides become a worm in Dune?

The answer is slightly more complicated than a simple yes or no. You see, there are six Dune books, and Paul Atreides aka Muad’Dib aka the Lisan al-Gaib aka Usul is only around for the first three. After that, his son Leto II takes control of the narrative in book four: God Emperor of Dune. The cover of that book, which features a giant sandworm in some iterations, has some people questioning whether Paul eventually makes that metamorphosis himself.

It’s easy to see how this could confuse the casual Dune movie watcher. Will Timothée Chalamet turn into a worm in the next movie? Is that the future for Paul Atreides?

Well, we are here to assure you that this specific future is not in the cards for Paul. But then whose fate involves becoming a worm? Read on to find out who turns into a worm, but only if you don’t mind the spoilers ahead.

Which Dune character turns into a worm?

At the end of Dune: Part 2, Paul usurps the throne from the emperor and crowns himself the new leader of the known universe, cementing that by marrying Princess Irulan. The movie does take some liberties with the book; for example, in the book Alia Atreides kills Baron Harkonnen and in the movie it’s Paul. In fact, we only get to see Alia in one dream sequence, whereas in the movie she’s a talking infant with incredible mental powers.

Paul eventually has two children: Leto Atreides II and Ghanima Atreides. In the books, Chani gives birth to the twins but dies in childbirth because Princess Irulan is a jealous hag and poisons her. In book three, Leto II becomes the main character and in book four he becomes a worm. There have been many visual interpretations over the years of the worm God Emperor. Here’s a particularly good one:

Suffice it to say, the plot of Dune gets weird in the later books. That’s part of the fun, though. In the third book, Children of Dune, Leto II merges his body with a sandworm so he can live practically forever. He gets sand trout (worm larvae) and attaches enough of them to his body that they form an exoskeleton and become a part of him. Over thousands of years, he completely transforms into a worm.

The fourth book, God Emperor of Dune, follows the adventures of Sand Leto and takes place 3,500 years after Paul Atreides became the Emperor. The book has some really fun parts where Leto surfs through the sand like it’s water, but he’s also a cruel, singular leader who obviously makes some enemies (there’s a rebel uprising on Arrakis).

While we don’t get to see Paul become a worm (and it might be too much to expect director Denis Villeneuve to make it all the way to the fourth book), we do see Paul riding a worm. It’s exciting and well-shot, just like the rest of the movie. So, a win-win for us fans either way.