Dune only adapted the first half of the Frank Herbert novel, with Dune: Part Two now on the way, but director Denis Villeneuve's original ending would have done a better job of setting up the sequel. While Dune got largely positive reviews, the ending drew criticism for being anti-climactic, but there's an event a few chapters later in the book that may have worked better for the script and for audiences.

Dune has always been one of the mythical "unfilmable" stories, with multiple infamously troubled productions in the past, so Denis Villeneuve had his work cut out for him when he tackled his adaptation. At first, the decision to only do the first half of the book without a guaranteed sequel seemed risky, but now that Dune: Part Two has the green light, Villeneuve is tasked with picking up where he left off and delivering the second half of the complex story.

Related: Dune Ending Explained

The movie makes quick work of a lot of the worldbuilding in the first half of the book, setting up the characters and story quickly in the opening minutes in a way that avoided a lot of complicated dialogue later on, and streamlining parts of the story to make it easier to explain. The movie got a lot of praise for how it delivered all the setup, including grand visuals and sound, but some criticisms said the ending was both abrupt and anti-climactic. A slightly different approach to the source material, one Villeneuve originally considered for the ending, could have solved all these complaints, and done a better job setting up the opening of Dune: Part Two.

Dune Flipped The Focus of the First Half of the Book

Dune 2021 Caladan Paul Atreides Timothee Chalamet

Herbert's Dune book is wrapped up in a lot on politics, war, and religion, and how they're wielded by different figures to achieve or maintain power. The first half of the book focuses mainly on the political aspect before war flips the tables, with the second half focusing on religion and then more war. The movie, however, made religion a much larger focus from the start, leaning into Paul Atreide's (Timothée Chalamet) visions, highlighting the way the Bene Gesserit planted prophecies to pave the way for the Kwisatz Haderach, emphasizing the fact that the Fremen already saw Paul as the Lisan al Gaib, especially Stilgar.

It's not that this is a departure from the book since much of that is present in the first half, but the focus is significantly shifted. The book covers a lot of the religious elements at play, teasing some elements more than others (such as the larger Bene Gesserit plot, which was more overt in the movie), but the religious elements take a back seat to politics, with Duke Leto Atreides' (Oscar Isaac) approach to winning over the Fremen and establishing the Atreides presence on Arrakis and Paul's tutilage being a much larger focus. Paul isn't as resistant to his political duties in the book as he's depicted in the movie, and while his dreams and the whisperings of the potential arrival of the Lisan al Gaib are also present, it's not given the same weight in the moment.

Why Dune's Ending Didn't Work as Well With the Plot Changes

The movie's choice of ending makes sense on one level because that's the moment Paul's journey as the Atreides heir is put on ice, bringing about a big shift from the politics of the first half to usher in the religious elements of the second half. Villeneuve said he ultimately chose that moment  as the ending because it's the moment "where we finally feel that Paul has [gone] from being a boy to an adult, and having all this arc of this first part completed." This is true on a technical level, but unfortunately, since the focus of the first half was shifted and gives so much focus to Paul's role in the Lisan al Gaib prophecy, and Paul was more resistant to his Atreides heritage than he was in the book, Paul becoming an adult just isn't the culmination of any major theme in the movie. In fact, the book stresses just how adult Paul seemed to everyone from the beginning, an element that was presumably reduced in the movie in an attempt to heighten the chosen ending. It's still an important character moment, but not one significant enough to serve as a climactic finale.

Related: Dune: All Of Paul's Dreams & Visions Explained (Future Teases & Real Meaning)

 

Especially of note here is a small change made to have Stilgar (Javier Bardem) proclaim Paul is the Lisan al Gaib when he first meets him, when in the book they had never met and Paul had to prove himself to Stilgar. In fact, even while Stilgar and Paul become good friends in the book, Stilgar doesn't see Paul with any kind of religious reverence until the end. Having Stilgar proclaim him as the Lisan al Gaib from the beginning means their character arcs no longer have to build to that moment, and Stilgar may even already look up to Paul from the start.

Instead, the real dramatic climax at this moment should be related to Paul's vision. Thanks to his exposure to the spice, he's now aware of a vast number of possible futures, many of which end with the Fremen rallying in violent jihad in the name of the Lisan al Gaib. Paul is keenly aware that killing his Fremen opponent, Jamis, will only push him closer to that future, but the alternative may be his death, the death of his mother, and the death of any potential re-emergence of House Atreides. Unfortunately, his dreams at this point are still vague for anyone in the audience who hasn't read the book to know what's going on, and it's not explicitly revealed exactly why this moment has significance, but continuing the story just a few more chapters would have revealed the true stakes Paul is feeling in this, providing a much better conclusion to Dune: Part One.

Dune Would Have Been Better if it Used Villeneuve's Original Ending

Lady Jessica looking serious in Dune

The movie's change in focus made Paul's battle with Jamis a bit less climactic than it was in the book, but it also meant continuing a few chapters later, as Villeneuve originally considered, would have made a great cliffhanger ending. In the book, after Paul and Jessica Atreides (Rebecca Ferguson) join the Fremen, there's have a ceremony where Jessica is asked to drink the Water of Life, a poison that, should she succeed, is converted to a non-toxic liquid with a heightened spice-like increase in awareness. The woman who performs this conversion also inherits the genetic memory of the Fremen Reverend Mother, and therefore all Reverand Mothers that came before her. The moment has especially high stakes because the Fremen didn't know Jessica was pregnant, meaning her unborn daughter's life is at stake, and even if she succeeded, there's no knowing what the impact could be on a fetus exposed to the Reverand Mother's genetic memory alongside Jessica. The moment is both one of great peril, but also full of many reveals (and many more questions) and would have served as a mind-blowing cliffhanger to the first half of the Dune story.

Related: How Dune's Messiah Prophecy Subverts Chosen One Narratives

Making this moment even more significant, the book presents concerns that Jessica may have coordinated with House Harkonnen to overthrow Duke Leto Atreides and seize Arrakis, and it's uncertain just how much the Bene Gesserit control her, and how much she's trying to control Paul. If she doesn't succeed, she could die, leaving Paul alone with the Fremen, possibly without as much religious mystique, since her death would signal they weren't worthy. However, her survival and elevation to Fremen Reverand Mother could be one of the biggest steps in the Bene Gesserit's schemes for Arrakis, feeding into Paul's fear of the future he sees in his dreams.

After the Water of Life ceremony, the book jumps forward a few years in time, meaning the Water of Life ceremony wouldn't only be a much crazier cliffhanger ending, but also set-up Dune: Part Two to pick up after this time jump before unpacking the consequences of Jessica converting the Water of Life, whereas now it presents a somewhat awkward obstacle. Now, Dune Part Two is faced with adapting one of the most climactic moments in the book early on in the first act, which is also a weird spot for a time jump. The movie can't spend the whole first act building up to this moment without risking shortchanging other major elements that belong in the second and third acts, making the unavoidable time jump placement a big hurdle. Extending the plot of the first movie just a little more could have meant the time jump happens between the movies, providing a more exciting and mysterious opening to Dune: Part Two.

Villeneuve proved himself extraordinarily capable of establishing worldbuilding in the opening minutes of the movie with sometimes brutal efficiency, so he surely has a plan for weaving a compelling story for Dune: Part Two, but it will take a lot for the chosen ending of Dune to not feel like a missed opportunity.

Related: Dune Movie's Biggest Unanswered Questions Explained