‘Dune: Part Two’s Biggest Changes to Book’s Story

Transcript

A Dune: Part Two movie is no longer a theory. It’s tangible and real. Along with Dune: Part One, it completes a full adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune novel, something his son, Brian Herbert, has recognized, praised, and acknowledged. That adaptation, though, is not without its changes.

In this special collaboration with Dune News Net, they asked me to explore three key differences between the Dune: Part Two film and the Dune novel—for better or for worse—to discuss why those changes might have been made and to explore how those changes could potentially affect the future of the Dune franchise.

This is going to contain spoilers for the Dune: Part Two movie, so be aware of that going into this.

Chani is a Different Person

One of the key changes in Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of the second half for the Dune novel is the character of Chani, played by Zendaya. In the book she almost immediately believes in Paul Atreides as the Lisan al Gaib or “the voice from the outer world.” This was already changed in Dune: Part One, where she tells Paul Atreides she doesn’t believe he’s the one.

So Dune: Part Two is that continuation of that belief. Zendaya’s Chani is very cautious, but interested in this new person among the Fremen. You can see that she thinks deeply about things before she believes in them and that’s something that Zendaya captured very well in Dune: Part Two. And this reflects her beliefs also.

In Dune: Part Two, she’s not someone who blindly follows the belief systems that the Reverend Mother has been propagating, part of a system that ensures the safety of the Bene Gesserit should they fall upon the people of Arrakis. But in the book, Chani believed in the Fremen way of life and she was a religious Fremen.

She was technically a Sayyadina in waiting, should the next woman who attempted to become a reverend mother fail. So Chani could have become the next reverend mother, the highest religious position that a person could have among the Fremen. Dune: Part Two does away with all that. She is no longer a Sayyidina in waiting.

So Dune: Part Two removes Chani’s religious beliefs completely. Instead, she only believes in her people. And she clearly says this in Dune Part Two: “We believe in Fremen.” And Chani calls herself a Fedaykin, which she wasn’t in the book. The Fedaykin being the death commandos, the strongest and most skilled warriors among the Fremen.

And this change is probably due to show her deep ties to the Fremen, rather than to the religious aspects of their people. So her convictions in the Dune: Part Two film also reflects the way she approaches her relationships. And I think all of these changes were made to create a more grounded, believable development of love between Paul and Chani.

Their relationship is complicated, and she’s kind of torn between her love for Paul that has grown, and her belief in her people, and her concern for their well being. In the book, because she believes in Paul, along with Stilgar, it’s much easier for him to assimilate himself among the Fremen. In the film, it’s not as simple and she proves to be one of those who challenges what she sees her people going through and how they are affected by Paul and his mother.

And this is what director Denis Villeneuve meant when he said that we are seeing Paul through Chani’s point of view.

Alia Speaks From the Womb

One of the more radical changes in Dune: Part Two is the character of Alia. In the Dune novel, Alia is a pre-born child, conscious in the womb, because her mother took the Water of Life, which unlocked all of the Bene Gesserit memories within her, giving her unborn child the same abilities.

And then there is a time jump in the book. Alia is then born, and she’s a fully conscious child walking around with the sensibilities of an adult. It proves to be a very creepy, strange, but fascinating character. In the Dune: Part Two movie, they choose to keep Alia in the womb and remove the time jump, with only a few months passing by.

And the creepy element is kept inside the womb, where she’s able to communicate with her mother. And so it creates this strange dynamic between mother and daughter, where Jessica is almost speaking to herself. Of course, what that means is that her remaining in the womb removes quite a few other elements from her character in the book.

In the book, Alia is a character that most of the Fremen are afraid of. They find her creepy and strange. Anyone would. And she has knowledge of things that happens to other Fremen that she couldn’t possibly know, but because she was pre-born with memories of her female ancestors, she has this prior knowledge, which creeps the Fremen out even more.

And at times I think it creeps out her own mother. So, on the screen, this would probably play out like a horror movie element, and it seems that that is something that Denis Villeneuve wanted to avoid. In the Dune novel, Alia is also a very big part of what happens in the final battle, while her brother Paul and the Fremen take back Arrakeen and fight the Emperor’s Sardaukar.

With the sandworm attack, Alia is supposed to be a knife wielding Fremen warrior, solidifying herself as a legend among the Fremen. And they would call her Saint Alia of the Knife. But if she’s not born, in the movie, she can’t do that. And that’s the case with Dune: Part Two.

But she’s also supposed to do one very big important thing. Kill the Baron for her brother. In the Dune: Part Two, movie, this cannot be achieved, so it has to be left for someone else, Paul himself. And so he takes on the task of killing the Baron. So the fact that Alia doesn’t kill the Baron could lead to some very significant changes to the future of her character in the Dune franchise.

In the Children of Dune novel, which comes after Dune Messiah, an interesting dynamic is formed between her and the Baron after his death. through the fact that she was pre-born. Being pre-born has a significant psychological effect on a child and when she grows up this still has a lasting effect on her.

She almost gets possessed by the spirit of the Baron and it’s kind of like the last laugh for the Baron to exist within her consciousness as a way to survive beyond his death at the hands of Alia. But with this removed from the Dune: Part Two movie, that storyline may no longer be played out in any future adaptations of the Dune books, or it will be played out differently.