Everything You Need To Know About Florence Pugh's Dune 2 Character
We may be several months away from "Dune: Part Two" arriving in theaters, but the spice is already starting to flow. The information blackout surrounding the epic blockbuster finally began to dissipate with this week's CinemaCon festivities and the exclusive screening of footage from the highly-anticipated sequel. While we heard that the action teased an all-consuming war to come, audiences haven't had the luxury of actually seeing any of this for ourselves ... up to this point, at least. After the cliffhanger ending of the first Denis Villeneuve-directed film, which only covered the first half of Frank Herbert's novel, fans of the movie and the book alike have anxiously awaited our first look at the second part — which is not to be considered a sequel, mind you!
Thankfully, Vanity Fair unleashed a flood into this desert with their comprehensive explainer, updating us on what Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), Chani (Zendaya), Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), the villainous Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård), and a host of new characters have all been up to since the murder of Paul's father, the Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac) and the fall of Arrakis to rival Harkonnen forces. But one new and high-profile addition stands out from all of the rest: Florence Pugh as the Princess Irulan. Readers of the novels certainly know what to expect from this important new member of the ensemble of A-listers, but we can't let them have all the fun, right?
So let's even the playing field a bit and embark on a deep-dive and spoiler-free explainer of our own, providing all the context casual fans need to understand the significance of this mysterious new character — and her place within the overall story — in "Dune: Part Two" and beyond.
Family ties
Throughout Frank Herbert's original 1965 novel, every chapter is preceded by an excerpt from various historical books, philosophies, diary entries, and other fictional writings from far in the future that have the added effect of explaining the world-building and lore of the admittedly dense universe of "Dune." The knowledge contained in these epigraphs, many of which contain in-depth and rather intimate details of Paul Atreides in particular, certainly hint at the in-universe author's eventual close proximity to the story's main character. But it isn't until the end of the lengthy novel that readers finally meet the person responsible for the majority of these entries: Princess Irulan.
Not only is this Irulan clearly a historian, but she's also revealed to be the daughter of the infamous Emperor himself, the Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV. He was only spoken of as an unseen presence in "Dune" and will be introduced in "Part Two," played by — who else — Christopher Walken. Without getting into plot details from the latter half of Herbert's novel, which will be covered in Villeneuve's sequel, it's safe to say that Irulan's prominence in the early marketing hints at an even larger role than she had in the first book.
As a key member of "Dune" royalty and the heir to an Emperor who is struggling to keep House Harkonnen (and his other subjects) on a tight leash, Irulan's situation is as precarious as it gets. In the Vanity Fair report, Villeneuve says that, "Her stake could not be higher because she's afraid that her father could lose the throne, could lose everything." One needn't be an expert in the novels to realize that her path, the Emperor's, and Paul Atreides' own are all fated to cross eventually. It'll be anything but simple, however.
The speculation must flow
"Dune" has remained relevant through the decades for a reason, going on to inspire classic stories like "Star Wars" and countless others — but one incredibly important aspect of the source material that any adaptation simply must get right, however, is the fact that this isn't meant to be a traditional hero's journey for Paul Atreides. At first glance, he sure seems like the prototypical "Chosen One" straight out of Campbellian myth. But, to its credit, Villeneuve's film provides just enough hints of something much bigger (and darker) going on, such as Paul's recurring visions of the future that culminate with blue-eyed Paul looking down dispassionately at bloodthirsty legions under his command.
With Irulan's seemingly expanded role in "Part Two," it's worth speculating how Villeneuve and co-writer Jon Spaihts will set up her courtly role as, essentially, the second most important person in the realm beyond her father. "Dune" predominantly focused on antagonists Baron Harkonnen and his fearsome nephew Glossu Rabban Harkonnen (Dave Bautista), longtime enemies to House Atreides. The sequel will introduce the Baron's other nephew to oppose Paul, the ruthlessly efficient and utterly brilliant Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler), but the true man behind the curtain remains the Emperor. It's difficult to imagine how Paul could fulfill his own destiny without somehow dealing with the bigger threat ... and it's equally challenging to figure out how he could do that without getting on Irulan's radar in a significant way.
The team behind "Dune: Part Two" are staying mum on any specific details about the Princess for the moment, and so will we. But from her casting and background alone, it's abundantly clear that Pugh and Irulan's journey in the "Dune"-verse is only just beginning.
"Dune: Part Two" comes to theaters November 3, 2023.