Dune's Denis Villeneuve Used The Film's Opening Quote To 'Hijack' The Franchise
Frank Herbert's "Dune" was long thought to be an unadaptable book. Despite its huge influence on the sci-fi genre, the novel's massive scope, many characters, use of internal dialogue, and rather complex web of political machinations and themes made it hard to distill into a single feature film — let alone one with four-quadrant appeal.
Still, there have been many attempts at making a "Dune" movie — some good, some even great, and some that never made it to the screen. But the absolute best adaptation has been Denis Villeneuve's two-part "Dune" film. Villeneuve makes a lot of changes, but for the most part, they are in service of distilling the epic novel's core message and focusing on its cautionary tale about messianic figures.
One of the changes is that the opening quotes of both movies — "Dreams are messages from the deep" ("Dune)" and "Power over spice is power over all" ("Dune: Part Two") — are not from Princess Irulan, like most of the opening chapter quotes in the novel. Instead, they are credited to an anonymous Sardaukar, one of the emperor's elite soldiers. Speaking with The New York Times, Villeneuve addressed the choice, calling the Sardaukar "the dark side of the Fremen":
"I thought it would be interesting to have a tiny bit of insight that they are not just tremendous warriors, but they have spirituality, philosophical thought. They have substance. Also, their sound was designed by Hans Zimmer. I absolutely loved how it feels like it's coming from the deep, from the ancient world."
"Frank Herbert said beginnings are very delicate times," Villeneuve continued. "By starting with a Sardaukar priest, I was indicating to the fans that I was taking absolute freedom with this adaptation, that I was hijacking the book."
Why the Sardaukar are worthy of Dune's opening quotes
That Villeneuve specifically chose the Sardaukar is a very interesting choice, because he's right that they are a dark mirror of the Fremen. You see, one of the things Villeneuve's "Dune" skipped from the books is the other powers at play in the galactic government. Shaddam Corrino IV may be Padishah Emperor of the Known Universe, but he has rather little power compared to the Landsraad Council of Great Houses, the CHOAM organization that monopolized commerce, or even the Spacing Guild that controlled all transport thanks to their use of spice melange. The emperor may be in charge, but the reason he feared Paul's father, Leto — so much so that he plotted to annihilate House Atreides — is not simply that Leto could form a political coalition that threatens the throne. No, the reason the emperor fears Leto is that House Atreides is the only power in the universe that can challenge the real source of the emperor's power: the Sardaukar.
The Sardaukar are feared as the strongest warriors in the entire universe — unkillable monsters that can decimate a planet while barely suffering any casualties. Not only are these death commandoes skilled and sadistic, but they are fanatically loyal to theemperor. Any house that could eventually threaten the Sardaukar is crushed by the emperor's chosen men. No one knows where the Sardaukar come from or what makes them strong ... except for the Atreides.
The Fremen and the Sardaukar have a lot in common
The reason the emperor condemned House Atreides to destruction was that he feared Duke Leto would train an army as strong as the Sardaukar — and he wasn't entirely wrong. Leto could inspire extreme loyalty in people, as much as the emperor does in his fanatical Sardaukar. Plus, he was surrounded by the best warriors in the universe, Gurney Halleck and Duncan Idaho, plus the master of assassins, Thufir Hawat.
With this trio of men, and Leto as their leader, the elite Atreides soldiers were just as good if not better than the Sardaukar. With enough time, they could have trained an army to challenge the Emperor — so House Atreides had to go. But Thufir had a plan, which was the reason why Leto so willingly and calmly walked into the trap on Arrakis. Thufir Hawat had discovered the truth of the Sardaukar: that they are trained on the brutal prison planet Salusa Secundus. The harsh conditions of the planet mean that only the strong survive there, and are honed and hardened by the unforgiving environment. In that sense, they have a lot in common with the Fremen, who live in secret sietches within the supposedly inhospitable deep deserts of Arrakis.
Hawat correctly deduced that the Fremen, who not only survive but actually thrive on Arrakis and had entire hidden civilizations, would be the strongest force alive, stronger even than the Emperor's. That's why Leto was so focused on having Duncan Idaho find and befriend the Fremen. Sadly, he didn't have enough time to enlist them to his cause because he was killed and the House of Atreides decimated, but the plan did eventually play out, executed by Paul.