Warning: the following contains SPOILERS for Dune.
Dune 2, an adaptation of the second half of Frank Herbert’s book, will make the original movie much better. From the start, Denis Villeneuve has said that the first book will be spread over two films, which wasn’t enough to satisfy many fans. The reason why Villeneuve’s Dune reboot is under so much pressure and scrutiny from long-time Frank Herbert fans is because the 1965 novel is practically the modern bible for sci-fi. The creative footprints of Dune can be gleaned in a wide variety of successful and niche intellectual property, from Star Wars to The Matrix. Even Game of Thrones borrowed from Dune's original success.
Dune’s overarching influence on modern fiction is a big part of the reason why, even though the reboot has been praised as a successful adaptation, fans continue to criticize the film. However, the Dune sequel could be the key to laying these criticisms to rest once and for all. The first movie, Dune: Part One, tackles only the first half of the book, and is an incomplete story.
Dune: Part Two, if it remains true to Herbert’s book, will show the rest of Paul Atreides’ (Timothée Chalamet) journey to become the Emperor and rule from the planet of Arrakis, with the Fremen at his side. The end of this story arc is a pivotal point in the narrative of Frank Herbert’s original 3 novels. In the book, Paul and Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) live in Stilgar’s (Javier Bardem) sietch among the Fremen, and ingest the Water of Life—the bile of a drowned young sandworm. As both are trained in the Bene Gesserit Way, they survive converting the Water of Life, with Jessica ascending to become the sietch’s new Reverend Mother, and Paul gaining perfect prescience. Paul forms the Fedaykin, his death commandos with whom he will retake Arrakeen and assume power.
Despite the book, Villeneuve says that Zendaya’s Chani becomes a main character in Dune 2. In the original novel, after the sietch’s Reverend Mother dies and Jessica takes her place, Chani becomes a Sayyadina, a priestess next-in-line to become Reverend Mother. Giving Chani a larger role in the coming sequel could not only reveal more about the Fremen way of life, but also give the character more agency than she has in the book and in the first movie. Meanwhile, the Emperor and Baron Harkonnen continue to consolidate power in Arrakis. And if Dune: Part Two stays true to the book, audiences may finally get to see the final confrontation between Paul and the Emperor’s forces.
On the other hand, Dune: Part Two may not be enough to explore the true meaning of Herbert’s expansive sci-fi novels. This is because Dune’s subversion of the white savior narrative is only fully exposed in Dune: Messiah, the second book in Frank Herbert’s series. 12 years after the events of the first book, Dune: Messiah reveals the repercussions of Paul’s jihad and reign as Emperor. This is meant to criticize the white savior narrative and show that even the most promising messiahs can lead the world to genocide, which, as many long-time fans argue, is the whole point of Frank Herbert’s Dune saga.
Villeneuve has announced plans of making a third movie based on Dune: Messiah, although it’s unclear if it will push through. If the officially announced Dune 2—which arrives in theaters on October 20, 2023—performs as well as its predecessor, there's a very good chance of this happening.
