The only problem Denis Villeneuve has to overcome when adapting Dune: Messiah

Summary

  • Adapting Dune: Messiah presents challenges due to its lack of action, focus on politics, and darker, introspective story.

  • Dune: The Third Part may struggle with audience expectations for a blockbuster finale, lacking a high-octane spectacle.

  • Villeneuve is faced with the task of portraying the negative arc of Paul Atreides in a politically sensitive climate, risking controversy.

Upcoming adaptation Dune: The Messiah may be the most anticipated sci-fi project in the near future. But director Denis Villeneuve faces significant hurdles to overcome to bring his grand vision to life—perhaps more than any other. Dune a movie or TV show.

Supposedly unfilmable Dune the novel had to be split into two parts, with many details condensed or omitted. So it is understandable why to adapt Dune's Messiah it can be just as or even more challenging. The sequel to his original Frank Herbert sci-fi novel presents its own set of complications. It's not just its massive scale and sprawling length, but its style and substance that can be difficult to translate to the big screen.

Related

Dune Messiah – Denis Villeneuve's potential third Dune movie, explained

Dune: Part Two is crying out for a sequel, and the director has the perfect sequel if Warner Bros.

Why is it Dune's Messiah Difficult to adapt?

Less action, more politics

Dune Messiah, Frank Herbert

Dune: The Messiah likely to complete an iconic trilogy that is comparable to a classic such as Star Wars, lord of the ringsand others. However, a problem with using it Dune's Messiah because the source material for the third film is that it may not match the studio's vision for the finale of the current trilogy. Compared to the first part, Dune: Part Two leaned heavily on action over dialogue, so it's only natural that audiences expect all-out climactic battles in the third film. But fans of the book know that's not the case.

What happens in Dune's Messiah?

Dune's Messiah begins 12 years after Paul Atreides became emperor. Over 60 billion people died during his reign, yet Paul still justifies these actions through his visions. His power grows to such uncontrollable lengths that groups such as the Bene Gesserit and the Cosmic Guild are forced to conspire to dethrone him.

Dune Messiah's Lack of spectacle

A problem for the finale of the trilogy

Paul Atreides in the second part of Dune

The story of Dune's Messiah is a dark and introspective affair. Compared to the first book, which had clearly defined villains and dramatic moments like Paul riding a sandworm, this sequel is far less action-packed. Messiah focuses on palace intrigue, Paul's inner conflicts and his descent into tyranny. There is little or no room for film sets. Even wars are mostly talked about as events in the background, only their consequences become apparent later.

This would be a challenge for the audience who are expecting a high-octane spectacle afterwards Part two. Instead of a blockbuster movie, they would get a more meditative story about corruption, sacrifice and the dangers of absolute power. If there is a lukewarm reaction to Dune: The Prophecy whatever it taught us, it's that this slow, dialogue-laden tone doesn't pack the punch that Warner Bros.

It shows Paul Atreid's troubled arc

A cautionary tale against hero worship

Another big challenge Villeneuve and his writing team will have to overcome is how to portray Paul Atreides' negative arc in Dune: The Messiah. Dune: Part Two already showed Timothée Chalamet's character beginning to be consumed by energy. While the original Dune serves as a cautionary tale against hero worship, deliberately written by Frank Herbert Dune's Messiah to dispel any misconceptions about Paul as a hero. He addressed this in a 1980 essay entitled Dune Genesis:

So this was one of my themes for Dune: Don't give all your critical skills to people in power, no matter how admirable those people may seem. Beneath the facade of a hero, you will find a human being who makes human mistakes. Enormous problems arise when human error is made on the grand scale at a superhero's disposal.

Potential political correctness issues

This sequel needs to fully commit to portraying Paul Atreides as a ruthless ruler who kills billions and justifies his actions in the name of a greater purpose. In fact, there is a key interview with Stilgar in the book where Paul references real historical figures such as Genghis Khan and Adolf Hitler to explain his reasoning. Such a scene would probably not translate well into today's socio-political and cultural climate. Even Dune: The Prophecy avoided controversy by not naming the Servant Jihad as it is called in the books, instead referring to the event as the Machine Wars.

It is unlikely that the producers would fully confront these darker aspects of Paul Atreides' character. On the other hand, to soften or omit them for public consumption would reduce his weight as an anti-hero. While modern audiences generally accept morally gray protagonists, Paul's journey from prophesied savior to genocidal ruler may be too extreme for many.

Dune: Messiah could still be a masterpiece

The reward is worth the risk

Dune 3 Messiah Denis Villeneuve

Not every great movie has to feature a spectacular battle in its third act. Despite Messiah Dune since it's largely a political and religious story, there's still room for high stakes and menacing enemies. Plus, the difficulty of fitting Paul's character development proves just how great it is. If his arc is portrayed perfectly, it could become an iconic achievement in cinema for deconstructing the hero archetype on this scale.

The best way to do this is to actually depict the war – to show parts of it, rather than starting the story after it has already happened, like in a book. Villeneuve has already done this in previous films by expanding the elements Dune that Herbert silenced or relegated to the background. Peter Jackson did something similar with lord of the ringswhere he took relatively minor details from the books and transformed them into epic backdrops.

If anyone can pull it off, it has to be Denis Villeneuve. The Blade Runner 2049 The director could still opt for his own creative freedom and incorporate new elements of Holy War to spice it up. Some consider Messiah Dune a novel meant to be an epilogue Dunewhile others see it as a companion piece. But it's up to Villeneuve to reshape it into a signature franchise finale that balances both action and philosophy.

01644435_poster_w780.jpg

Dune: Part Two

Release date

February 27, 2024

Director

Denis Villeneuve

Running time

167 minutes

Leave a Comment