The much anticipated cinematic release of the second part of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune has finally arrived, and it was indeed worth the wait. The first film took the world by storm and made a new generation fall in love with Frank Herbert’s science fiction space opera, which was no mean feat considering that the source material is notoriously complex, filled with strange concepts and dense foreign political intrigue. This was the main factor in the failure of David Lynch’s 1984 Dune film. But not only did Villeneuve succeed where others had failed, he managed to craft a cinematic masterpiece that was commendably faithful to the book upon which it was based.
Now that Villeneuve’s second Dune film, which covers the second half of the book, has been released we are pleased to say that it is yet another astounding piece of science fiction cinema. However, this time around, Villenueve has notably departed from the source material in several ways. Read on to learn how.
Alia plays a critical role as a child
Let’s get what some might consider the obvious one out of the way first, especially if you have seen Dune 1984, which gets this part right. Jessica is pregnant with her daughter Alia when she drinks the poisonous Water of Life, just as she is in the film, but what Villeneuve’s Dune Part 2 does not show is that, in the book, Alia is born long before the event’s of the film’s epic final battle. By this point in time, Alia is already 4 years old.
As a result of being in the womb when her mother drank the Water of Life, Alia immediately becomes conscious with complete self-awareness, of not only her own existence, but also the memories of her complete maternal lineage.This awareness and power continues through her childhood, which results in many fearing her due to her prematurely adult personality. Eventually it is Alia who kills the Baron Harkonnen.
Jessica is scared of Paul
In Villenueve’s Dune Part 2, Jessica is seen to promote and encourage Paul to fulfil his destiny, whatever it takes. This is quite different to the book in which Jessica is scared of her son and what he is becoming. In the book, Jessica is the voice of restraint and caution, and as Paul’s abilities grow, she begins to fear his intent and power. Following his ascent to emperor, but before the events of the next book, Jessica abandon’s Paul and they become estranged due to her rejection of him. Whilst this could still happen in a third Dune film if one comes to pass, it would be harder to explain given Jessica’s behaviour on screen in Dune Part 2.
Paul has another wife
We see Paul kill Jamis at the end of Dune Part 1 so that he can become accepted by the Fremen. What Dune Part 2 doesn’t show is that as a result of this event, in Fremen custom, Paul inherits Jamis’ wife Harah, who features little in the film and is not identified as having a relationship to either character. As part of the pairing, Paul also becomes a guardian to Harah’s children. Technically, Paul is offered Harah as either wife or servant, and Paul chooses servant simply because he doesn’t want either, but also doesn’t want to offend the Fremen. Even still, it would have been a contentious development to modern audiences and would have affected pacing, which is potentially why it was dropped. Nonetheless, Harah plays a consistent role throughout Paul’s life, supporting him and his family as a close friend.
Paul and Chani have a son
Two years after Paul and Jessica join the Fremen in the book, Paul and Chani have a son, Leto, named after Paul’s father. Leto is subsequently captured and murdered during the Harkonnen siege of Sietch Tabr. The siege is shown in the film, but clearly there was no infanticide. As with all parents who are tragically forced to live through the loss of a child, the death of their son rocks Paul and Chani deeply in the books. Paul in particular is horribly guilt-ridden because he knew, as a result of his prescient abilities, that it would have to come to pass as he had to ‘choose’ that timeline over another, or the Fremen would lose the war.
Paul steals the Water of Life
Whilst in the film Paul is not openly presented with the Water of Life, he is still given it after some resistance. In the book, Paul steals the precious liquid without anyone even knowing. He sneaks into the young sandworm’s chamber when everyone else is asleep or distracted, kills the worm himself to extract the bile and drinks it with no witnesses. He is later discovered unconscious, but no one suspects what he has done until Chani returns from the southern lands and he suddenly wakes unassisted from a coma after three weeks.
Water is poisonous to sandworms
In Dune Part 2, a young sandworm is drowned in a pool of water so that the sacred Water of Life can be extracted from it during its death. In the book, the reality is not quite so mundane. The sandworm doesn’t drown like any normal air breathing animal, instead it dies because water is extremely poisonous to it. Whilst one could argue that this might be no different in the film, it’s certainly not made clear if it is.
The fact that water is poisonous to sandworms is a cornerstone of the whole Dune universe, and along with the fact that sandworms create the spice melange, is a closely guarded secret. The reason why this is so important is because spice is critical to space travel. Water is so poisonous to sandworms that they cannot survive on any other planet (despite attempts) because even low atmospheric humidity can kill them. Arrakis has a perfectly unique climate suitable for sandworms, which is why the planet is so coveted. Few people and organisations, including the Spacing Guild and the Fremen, know the truth about the sandworms.
Ultimately, this truth is what enables Paul to seal his ascendancy to emperor because he threatens to kill all the sandworms with the water that the Fremen have collected – something which he is uniquely positioned to command and control. Given its importance, it’s a shame that Villenueve’s films don’t highlight this.
Chani accepts Paul’s proposal to Princess Irulan
The final scene in Dune Part 2 is that of a scorned Chani, leaving Paul and returning to the desert. Obviously she has become disillusioned, and burned by Paul’s decision to take Princess Irulan’s hand in marriage. Completely understandable given the context of events within the film. This is not however, how it plays out in the book. Chani is fully aware and accepting of the politics involved in the final showdown, even if she doesn’t like it, and even assists in negotiating the settlement of Paul’s ascendancy. It also helps that in this scene, Paul declares to the Princess that their marriage will purely be a political manoeuvre and that she will become his wife in name only – Chani is, and always will be, his true wife. The Princess reluctantly accepts this, but hates Paul for it.
Paul and Chani’s loving relationship is central to the events of Dune Messiah, the next book in the series. It appears as though a third Dune film would have a lot of ground to recover if it is to remain even moderately faithful to the source material, given how Part 2 has ended.
Dune Part Two is in cinemas everywhere now.
