How Dune 2 Corrects One Key Paul Atreides Issue From Frank Herbert's Book

Paul Atreides is a complicated character. By the end of "Dune: Part Two," the heir to House Atreides is ascending in power and clearly on a path to unleash war across the Dune galaxy. This twist in the boy-turned-messiah's story is sobering. It doesn't completely align with the books, either — and it turns out that director Denis Villeneuve was well aware of that fact. In an interview with ScreenRant, Villeneuve explained the intention of having Paul "break bad" by the end of the two-part adaptation of the first book of author Frank Herbert's iconic sci-fi series:

"When Frank Herbert wrote the book, and then when the book came out, he was disappointed by how people perceived Paul Atreides. At the time, he felt that people were talking about Paul as a hero, and for him, he was an anti-hero. He was a dark figure. The book was a warning for him about a Messianic figure."

Villeneuve went on to clarify that Herbert used the first book's sequel to rectify the issue. It also meant, as a director adapting the source material, he had the benefit of hindsight as well as both books to work from. Here's what he said:

"[Frank Herbert] wrote Dune Messiah to correct [the perception of Paul as a hero] and to make sure that people understood his intention. I knew that story. I had the benefit of having read 'Dune Messiah,' so I wrote 'Part 2' having that in mind. That is why Chani's character is slightly different in my adaptation than in the book, and it helped me to bring the initial intention of Frank Herbert to the screen."

Speaking to Total Film, Chani actor Zendaya also addressed the changes with her character. She pointed out that, in the first book, the fremen protagonist meets Paul and is all in on him from the jump. In the movie adaptation, she doesn't have quite as much buy-in on the messianic Atreides stock. Zendaya said:

"In the book, Chani meets Paul and is like, 'Alright, this is the guy. I support you.' Whereas in our film, in no way does she bend how she feels. She's strong in her convictions. Even when she's falling in love, she still doesn't like what [Paul] represents.

Chani reluctantly goes along with Paul throughout the end of "Dune: Part One" and into the early stages of "Dune: Part Two." However, as their bond grows, she remains staunchly focused on what she sees as right — even when Paul crosses boundaries and unleashes an all-out war on the House of Harkonnen and the Padishah Emperor himself. In the end, she refuses to join his jihad to conquer the galaxy. The movie even ends with her about to ride a sandworm off into the arid dunes of Arrakis — an adjustment that is starkly different from her role in the books, where, despite her strong opinions, she fanatically remains by Paul's side by that point in the story.

It's easy to slip into seeing Paul as a hero in the earlier phases of the "Dune" saga. In the first book, he's an untried youngster who is manipulated by the Bene Gesserit and, through the conniving of his own mother, accidentally becomes their long-awaited Kwisatz Haderach. In the process of that evolution, Paul loses his father and many of his favorite servants, watches his family's material wealth seized by the Harkonnens, becomes a stone-cold killer, learns to survive in extreme desert conditions, and even loses a child (something the movies cut to maintain narrative flow).

Despite all of this, Paul ultimately becomes an undeniable anti-hero figure well before the end of his story. He spends the bulk of "Dune: Messiah" processing his own failures and the destructive path he's torn through the galaxy. Eventually, he even flips the script and preaches against the path he has set for himself, his family, and the Fremen through his actions. While this is a gradual revelation in the books, the devolution from hero to anti-hero is happening much faster in Villeneuve's movies. The question that remains is how Paul's arc will continue to trend when we get the third and final installment of the director's ground-breaking adaptation. The good news is that the third movie is already being fast-tracked, so chances are we'll get an answer sooner rather than later.