When Dune: Part Two premiered in cinemas many fans were disappointed that not only was the Spacing Guild missing from the movie, but that Thufir Hawat was also seemingly forgotten about. In this article we examine how this noble Atreides warrior has been represented (or not) in adaptations—both made and unmade—over the last 50 years, including what was left on the cutting room floor of Denis Villeneuve’s films.
Joe Ford and Bob Greenhut’s Script (1972)
In March 1972, Joe Ford and Bob Greenhut completed a 37-page story treatment of Frank Herbert’s Dune and sent a copy to Arthur P. Jacobs’ production company APJAC. This treatment does include Hawat, but he is labelled simply as a lieutenant, has a few lines on one page and is not mentioned again, seemingly the writers just reused his name for a random Atreides officer.
CONFERENCE CHAMBER - RESIDENCE
Pull back from the screen revealing LETO and his staff. PAUL is also present.
HAWAT (a lieutenant)
This is a carryall...essentially a large 'thopter.
Its sole function here is to deliver a factory to
spice rich sands, then to rescue the factory if
sand worms appear...and they appear quite frequently.
So harvesting is a process of getting in and getting
out fast with as much as possible.Rospo Pallenberg’s Script (1973)
The second treatment for Jacobs was written by Rospo Pallenberg in January 1973, this one was a little longer at 52-pages, features Hawat as a “plodding and suspicious counselor” and is more faithful to the novel. When the Harkonnen attack Hawat believes Jessica is the traitor, he realises that most of the Harkonnen are really Sardaukar in disguise but that the Fremen can stand up to them. Storing this knowledge his surrenders himself to actual Harkonnens. The Baron administers poison to the Mentat and the antidote to himself, so that Hawat is unknowing bound to his archenemy. Hawat developers a plan for the Baron – “wage a savage war against the Fremen; then, feigning a change of regime on Dune, to send Feyd-Rautha as a liberator who will befriend the Fremen.”
Hawat is surprised to discover Paul is alive at the end, but with the Baron now dead, the poison within Hawat is triggered and Thufir begins to die. Learning that Yueh, and not Jessica, was the traitor he begs for Jessica’s forgiveness, and explains his plan for the Baron was really to develop the prowess of the Fremen so they could one day defeat the Sardaukar as the fall of House Atreides was due to the Emperor himself.
Hawat is dying. He explains that he knew that the Fremen would one day outfight the Sardukar. He fooled the Baron, urging him to wage war against the Fremen -- for this exercise would develop the Fremen's prowess... His secret hope was that finally the Fremen would defeat the Sardukar, because the Emperor was ultimately responsible for the smashing of House Atreides... The faithful counsellor dies... The nobles are aghast at the Emperor's secret ploys.Jodorowsky’s Dune (1974-76)
In 1974 Alejandro Jodorowsky started work on his version of Dune, and while it famously would have taken huge liberties with the source material (Fenring kills Paul at the end, but Paul’s spirit transforms Arrakis into a green paradise, the planet leaves the galaxy and then disappears completely) there are still many aspects that remain reasonable faithful to the novel.
Thufir Hawat’s character is one such feature, a Mentat who helps train Paul (admittedly with a thinking machine fighting robot), is lead to believe that Jessica is the traitor, and is captured by the Harkonnens. Thufir wants to die, so the Baron allows him to drink the “irrevocable poison”, but as soon as he has done so the Baron lies to Hawat, saying that Jessica not only betrayed the Atreides, but also the Harkonnens. If the Mentat serves the Baron he could ensure that Jessica paid for her crimes. Thufir agrees, and drinks the antidote that he must take everyday to counteract the fatal poison now in his bones.
Ultimately, when given the opportunity to kill Jessica in the final scene he instead turns his weapon on himself, sacrificing himself for the Atreides.
151 INTERIOR. GOVERNMENT PALACE HALL. DUNE
PAUL : I've glimpsed this scene thousands of times. Halleck frees you... You move towards my mother, I intervene and open my arms. You're holding a poisoned needle in your hand... You are in distress because you'll only be given the antidote after you've killed us. You are the Emperor's instrument of treason.
Hawat stops and begins to convulsively. He reveals the poisoned needle and aims it at Paul.
PAUL : Thufir, in the name of all those years when you faithfully served my family, you can ask of me what you want. My life? You can have it.
Patiently, Paul waits for Thufir to come forward. Thufir stretches out his hand and pushes him aside. He moves forward, the poisoned tip pointed towards Jessica. Paul does nothing to stop him. Jessica impassively opens her arms in turn.
HAWAT: Lady Jessica; now I realize my mistake. My body is suffering but I'm happy in the knowledge that Duke Leto's wife was a real woman.
Hawat plunges the needle in his chest and dies instantaneously. Paul embraces the body.
PAUL : Let the Fremen people recover his water and honour him as a hero! Let the wind and sand receive him, Let him rest in the breast of Shai-Hulud, because he was always faithful to his truth!Frank Herbert’s Script (1978-79)
When Dino De Laurentiis acquired the rights for Dune he commissioned Frank Herbert to write the script, after all who better to adapt the famous novel than the author himself? Herbert’s massive 321-page script was unsurprisingly deemed unfilmable, and makes some strange choices in its adaptation; such as Gaius Helen Mohiam serving as both the Emperor’s Truthsayer and as the Fremens’ Reverend Mother!
Hawat’s role, however, remains similar to the novel: House Mentat, suspicious of Jessica, captured by the Harkonnens and bound by poison, but ultimately killing himself rather than betray the Atreides. Among the Thufir scenes included is the fan-favorite confrontation between the Mentat and Jessica, although at over four pages long it may have dragged onscreen.
INTERIOR - DAY - CONSERVATORY - JESSICA AND HAWAT
Scowling, Hawat turns toward the door, starts to leave.
JESSICA (VOICE)
I HAVE NOT DISMISSED YOU!
Hawat freezes. His muscles lock. Jessica smiles without humor. Slowly, Hawat regains control of his body. He turns toward her, awe on his face.
JESSICA
Now, you know something of the true powers possessed by the Bene Gesserit.
Hawat draws in a deep trembling breath. To learn more about this script I recommend reading I Found Frank Herbert’s Dune Script. Dune: Part Two Is Better by Max Evry, author of A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch’s Dune. An Oral History.
Ridley Scott’s Dune (1980)
When Ridley Scott was picked by De Laurentiis to director Dune, Rudy Wurlitzer was selected to write several drafts. In one uncovered last year Thufir is described as having “an old weathered face, rheumy eyes, the uniform of a high official.” He is friends with Doctor Yueh, and plays a chess-like game with him. Yueh encourages Hawat’s suspicions of Jessica and the Bene Gesserit, averting attention from himself. Thufir survives a little over half-way through the script before Yueh poisons his meal and casually moves aside the poison snooper to avoid detection.
INT. CASTLE - NIGHT
YUEH pours the sauce into a bowl and pours it over a plate of meat. He sets the plate on the table, moving aside the POISON SNOOPER in the center of the table.
DR. YUEH
More than likely.
HAWAT reaches for a piece of meat, cuts into it and eats. He starts to choke.
Stunned, he stares at YUEH as the poison starts to enter his bloodstream. He pulls the POISON SNOOPER to his plate. It bobs its head, an ALARM going off. He looks at his old friend, his lips trying to form the question.
HAWAT
Why?To learn more about this script I recommend reading Ridley Scott’s Lost Dune Script Found by Max Evry, author of A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch’s Dune. An Oral History.
David Lynch’s Dune (1984)
David Lynch’s Dune was released just over 40 years ago, and while Thufir’s story arc was kept mostly intact from the novel in the script and during filming, some of it hit the cutting room floor while trimming the movie down to the required 137-minute runtime. Some of the excised footage was Thufir’s death, which still exists as a deleted scene. As it contains the time consuming blue-eye effects and is fully scored it appears that it was cut from the film at the last minute, perhaps to make way for some of the extra exposition added to the start of the film. Thufir’s death also appears in the Dune storybook, Marvel comic book adaptation, Fleer trading cards, and Panini sticker album.
In an interview with David Lynch and Frank Herbert, released by WaldenTapes on audio cassette, Herbert mentions his only objection during production was that originally a certain character wasn’t going to be killed off, but that David and Rafaella De Laurentiis listened and included the scene. While it isn’t mentioned which character is being referred to, the “poignant” death does imply that Hebert expected Thufir’s death to be included in the final cut.
You’ll see an authentic [death] scene that is from the book, very poignant.
Frank Herbert – WaldenTapes Interview
Frank Herbert’s Dune Miniseries (2000)
The SciFi televisions miniseries from 2000, written and directed by John Harrison, was roughly 4.5 hours long, spread over three 90-minute episodes. It is often regarded as mostly faithful to the novel, but like any adaptation there are some changes, and Thufir, described as “a grizzled OLD MAN with red-stained lips”, is once again one of those affected.
He appears in several scenes serving as the Mentat to House Atreides, but he dies during the Harkonnen attack on Arrakeen in the first episode.
76 INT. CORRIDORS ... ARRAKEEN PALACE
A fury of emotions sweeps over Hawat. Rage. Despair...
HAWAT
(howling)
BASTARDS!!!!!!!!
BAAAAVVVVOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!
A ball of fire consumes the room.
Choking off Hawat's screams.Peter Berg’s Dune (2008)
In March 2008, Joshua Zetumer wrote a 13-page treatment for director Peter Berg, containing no mention of Thufir Hawat or Mentats, nor Rabban, Kynes, Mapes, or any Fenring. Some of these omissions might be due to the treatment’s length, rather than an indication of which characters would actually be missing in a completed script.
Pierre Morel’s Dune (2010)
When Peter Berg left the project, Pierre Morel stepped into the director’s chair and brought on Chase Palmer as the writer. The resulting 120-page script describes Thufir as “a grizzled old man, his eyes two pools of alertness in a deeply seamed face, lips stained red by sapho juice” – copying almost word for word from the Dune novel.
Palmer’s Hawat is a man of action, during an assassination attempt on Duke Leto he “jumps the guest and wrestles away the weapon.” While interrogating the would-be assassin Thufir realizes that it was a diversion and rushes to the Shield Room to discover the guards killed by Chaumurky (poison) gas. As Hawat tries to find the key to raise the shield he find a silver ring clutched in the hand of one of the dead guards – the ring from Doctor Yueh’s hair! As he runs out to warn Leto the Harkonnen and Sardaukar attack, blowing the gates to the palace open, and “Hawat, shieldless, is struck in the head and knocked to the ground.”
Captured by the Harkonnens he is forced to work for the Baron, but when the Fremen attack the palace (at the end of the script) and Alia is captured he learns that Paul is still alive. As Paul and the Fremen attack the palace, the shields, initially knocked out by the storm, suddenly come back on, foiling Muad’Dib’s plan. Behind the impregnable shield Feyd feels victorious, but suddenly Thufir betrays the Harkonnens and takes out the shields, dying in his final act of redemption.
145 INT. INNER GATE COURTYARD
HAWAT RACING FOR THE SHIELD ROOM with a lasgun, blasting anyone in his path.
FEYD
Stop him!
Everyone turns and starts strafing Hawat, who staggers, his body seared and bloody, into the shield room...
HAWAT
For my Duke!
146 INT. SHIELD ROOM
With his last breaths he fights off multiple shieldsmen and blasts away the control panel, dying in the process...Dune: Part One (2021)
Villeneuve’s Dune: Part One portrays Thufir Hawat quite well at the start. We see him as one of the representatives of House Atreides when the Herald of the Change arrives, and he performs as a Mentat, calculating the cost of the formality. He welcomes Paul to Arrakis, escorts Paul and Jessica to the palace, presents the housekeeper candidates to Jessica, provides valuable information about the Harkonnen profits from Arrakis in a War Council meeting, explains the Spice commitments of House Atreides, realizes that the Fremen number in the millions, oversees security sweeps, develops a plan to harness the Fremens’ desert power, and then … disappears from the rest of the film.
There was originally a scene showing Piter gloating over a “bound and battered” Hawat after the Harkonnen attack, but that was later deleted, leaving his fate, like that of Gurney’s, unresolved in Part One.
93 EXT. ARRAKEEN RESIDENCY - BALCONY 93
Harkonnen warships hang triumphant over the war-torn city.
Weapons fire and cries of agony ring out in the streets.
Piter de Vries stands watching with a bound and battered
Thufir Hawat, guarded by four Sardaukar. Piter is gloating.Dune: Part Two (2024)
When Dune: Part Two officially began filming in Budapest on Monday, July 18, 2022 the press release from Warner Bros. listed Stephen McKinley Henderson as a returning cast member. When the first teaser trailer came out on May 3, 2023 Henderson was listed in the credits at the end, and likewise in the second trailer from June 29, 2023, even though there was no glimpse of him in either.
The actors’ strike delayed the movie’s release, and we didn’t get another trailer until December 12, 2023. There was still no sign of Thufir and, more worrying, Henderson’s name had been removed from the trailer’s credits. Fans speculated that his role had been significantly reduced, or even removed completely.
It wasn’t until February 2024, in a ScreenX trailer that we had our first sighting of Thufir in Dune: Part Two. ScreenX is special panoramic film format which, for certain scenes, uses an expanded 270-degree projection, using the side walls of a theater for the additional images to the left and right of the normal screen. During the clip of Feyd getting the medallion from the Baron, on the right hand image we see Thufir among the other Harkonnens!
Sadly, this inclusion of Thufir was a mistake. When fans finally saw the movie in March 2024 there was no sign of Thufir, and Stephen McKinley Henderson name only appeared in the credits in the “Thanks” section. Even in the ScreenX version, that particular scene didn’t use the side walls, perhaps the expanded footage was only done for the trailer, or maybe it was removed when they realized they’d left Thufir in the shot.
Ultimately it appears that we are meant to assume that Thufir died during the Harkonnen assault on Arrakeen, much like in the miniseries, although at least there the Mentat had an onscreen death.
It is hard to know just big a role Thufir originally had in the second movie; the script released by Warner Bros. for the Dune: Part Two FYC (For Your Consideration) awards push has been heavily edited to follow the film exactly. There is no indication of where scenes may have been removed, added, or rearranged, and even actions improvised on set are included in the script.
We do have a few clues though, as well as the ScreenX image, we know that Thufir was originally in the Harkonnen war room, standing next to the 3D solido (hologram) console with the Baron and Feyd in the background, perhaps providing tactical recommendations.
In an interview on the This is Purdue podcast Henderson revealed there was a scene featuring evident tensions between Feyd and Thufir.
[Austin] played a character that was not very happy with me at all, and he was quite, quite chilling and I was giving him back the looks…
Stephen McKinley Henderson – This is Purdue
Finally, Thufir also survived to near the end of the movie, standing in the Arrakeen Residency, perhaps found there by the Fremen before the scene where the Emperor enters. This likely could have been Thufir’s final scene, in keeping with the novel.
… we had to choose to embrace just one aspect of the book, which is the Bene Gesserit plot line. Other elements had to fall away. You could do a whole other film just focused on the Mentat or on the Spacing Guild – they would be interesting to see, of course, but we had to choose.
Denis Villeneuve, Sight and Sound – April 2024
Which is your favorite representation of Thufir Hawat on screen? Let us know in the comment section below!
Note: Many of the various Dune scripts mentioned in this article can be download from the DuneInfo Script Archive.