Dune Part 2 vs. Dune the Book
Dune: Part Two (Dennis Villeneuve 2024) was a phenomenal film to watch and exceeded all expectations. As a major fan of the book, there is always a debacle for any film adaptation of how accurately “they” follow the book (remembering along the lines of Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and The Hunger Games). For the most part, Villeneuve’s interpretation of Dune (Herbert 1965) was ultimately well done. The book is split into three parts: Dune (2021) was only the first part, and Dune: Part Two captured the last two parts. Since Dune has long been considered unfilmable, Villeneuve’s approach is unique; he chooses to cover the spectacle over the intricate political, economic, and philosophical plot that makes Dune so phenomenal. However, Villeneuve did do incredible justice to the original novel. However, some significant aspects still deviated from the text, even so far as a complete change in the narrative that marks new territory.
In order of least to most consequential deviations:
Guns
One of the original criticisms of the first Dune film is the use of advanced weaponry in the invasion of House Atreides. The first film did well in avoiding the use of guns, and the criticism was when the Harkonnens invaded; they seemed to possess highly advanced sci-fi artillery. This scene does happen in the book, although the artillery they used is from around the present time of the 1960s and is considered ancient. Dune’s primary weapons are swords, forcefield shields, and Lasguns. While the first two are shown exceptionally well, Lasguns are rarely shown in the first film. The main reason Lasguns are not popular is because if it’s shot at someone wearing a shield, it explodes both the target and the user of the Lasgun. However, in Dune: Part Two, somehow, rifles have become a regular weapon for hunting Fremen.
While the primary battles are fought with swords, in many of the raid scenes a new appearance of an Ornithopter machine gunner is shown which did not exist in the previous film. More and more guns are now present when hunting the Fremen. However, the caveat to this is that bullets cannot penetrate shields, so in Villeneuve’s approach he can justify the use of guns due to the fact that Fremen do not use shields, as they inadvertently summon sandworms to the wearer.
Paul
This deviation may be a personal opinion, but Paul (Timothée Chalamet) was too much of a hero in this film. One of Frank Herbert’s central ideas is that Paul is more in line with the notion of an Anti-hero than a traditional hero. Villeneuve addresses this in an interview, but it seems he made Paul too cautious about his destiny. Both Paul in the book and film are very aware and guilty of what is to come in his visions: a future genocide in his name across planets. However, Paul in the book still thinks about this but acts on methods to get revenge and take the throne. We read Paul’s thoughts on how he takes advantage of the Fremen and how evil it is to inherit the role of the Lisan Al-Gaib, but he still works towards this for his own interests. Conversely, in the film, Paul is very self-aware of the possible future. He does not go to the South so the Fremen do not unify under him, but he tries to be heroic and not take the power that is offered to him, which does not ring exactly true like in the book. It’s only when Sietch Tabr is destroyed that Paul finally gets the motivation to take his power.
North v. South Fremen
Thoughts on religion are a fundamental part of the Dune books, but Villeneuve completely fabricated this North v. South Fremen divide in the film. The Southern Fremen are considered “Fundamentalists” who are religious extremists who believe entirely in the Lisan Al-Gaib prophecy, compared to the secular Northern Fremen who believe in stewarding the planet and distrust the prophecy brought on by the Bene Gesserit. The film pits Chani (Zendaya) as a representative of the North and Stilgar (Javier Bardem) of the South as examples of this divide. Stilgar, who was raised very religiously, wants to believe that Paul is the Lisan Al-Gaib and that he will save the Fremen. Chani believes it is all false and that the Fremen should focus on themselves rather than an off-worlder who proclaims that he will save them. From the film’s vision, it’s an intellectually stimulating thought and not necessarily a terrible choice Villeneuve made.
St. Alia of the Knife
Perhaps only readers of the book would have this contention with the film, but Paul’s sister, Alia (Anya Taylor-Joy), was never born in Dune: Part Two. She plays a vital role in the book as she is the one who kills Baron Harkonnen (at around age 2). She constantly talks to her mother while she is a fetus and is given one cameo in the film when Paul consumes the Water of Life. However, she plays an incredibly prominent role near the end of the book and is one of the main characters in the second book, Dune Messiah (Herbert 1969) on which the third Dune film will be based.
The Spacing Guild
The Spacing Guild’s absence in Dune: Part Two was arguably the most notable deviation from the film. The Spacing Guild plays a critical role near the end of the book, as Paul reveals to the Imperium that he is willing to destroy the Spice. This shadow organization that controls space travel is politically momentous at this moment as they need Spice to navigate through space. While there is an incredible amount of lore, politics, and history behind the spacing guild, it’s far too much to cover, and perhaps that’s why Villeneuve chose to exclude them from the film.
Chani
Chani’s character in the film and book are almost unrecognizable to each other. In the film, Chani is a secular ideologist who loves Paul but distrusts him when he chooses to fulfill the prophecy of the Lisan-Al Gaib. Chani takes on this role in the film as an adversary to Paul, not his lover. In the book, years pass when Paul lives with the Fremen, and Chani and Paul have a son together. Chani is a significant guide to Paul, which is shown adequately in the film, but they should turn into lovers. In the film, Chani’s secularism becomes a point of contention between them as she refuses to believe that Paul is the Lisan Al-Gaib and hates him for fulfilling the prophecy. When Paul receives Irulan’s hand in marriage, she is distraught and storms off into the desert; compared to the book, she takes her place as Paul’s concubine because he loves her but must marry Irulan in order to ascend to the throne.
Furthermore, film Chani’s relationship with Lady Jessica is very different. Chani condemns Lady Jessica for peddling folklore, lying to her people, and using her position as a Reverend Mother to control her people. In the book, she and Lady Jessica do not have any hatred for each other, and the book ends with Lady Jessica offering Chani comfort in being Paul’s concubine. This new take by Villeneuve is quite interesting, as Chani turns into this feminist hero instead of the loving concubine that Herbert puts her as. However, what is curious is that the third film in this installment is based on Dune Messiah, which absolutely necessitates Chani and Paul having a loving relationship. However that goes, only Villeneuve knows.