This article contains spoilers for Dune: Part Two
Frank Herbert’s epic science fiction saga Dune has a story that spans millennia. As the House of Atreides struggles with the Empire and its conspiracy to tear them down, more threats to their power might come from inside their ranks than any external houses of the Corrino Empire.
At the center of the epic of Dune is the story of Paul Atreides, heir to the fiefs and titles of Duke Leto Atreides, and Chani Kynes, who is to be the future concubine of Emperor Paul Atriedes. However, their story might not have as happy an ending as an epic saga mandates. Instead, it will be rife with tragedy and loss, and it won’t be because of enemies, but from those whom Paul will call allies.
Dune 3 will bring a sea of troubles for Chani Kynes
Dune: Part Two is set to adapt the second half of the novel, which will see the characters of Chani, played by Zendaya Coleman, and Paul, played by Timothée Chalamet, fall in love and become the core couple of the series. What Dune: Part Two will also see is the fall of Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corinno IV, the current Emperor of Mankind.
During the final moments of the rule of the Corinno, Paul threatens to destroy the spice, essentially crippling the Empire and dooming mankind. Under this duress, the Padishah Emperor not only abdicated the throne but also promised his daughter, Princess Irulan Corrino, as a wife for Paul Atredes. At this point, Paul is already married to Chani and has had a son, although he has been slain by invaders in the Freman’s war with the Empire’s forces.
The trouble starts when Paul accepts the marriage, the Golden Lion Throne, and the Freman’s veneration. The last of these is something Paul considers very dangerous and uncontrollable, especially after his victory over Shaddam IV Corrino. Irulan expects to be the wife and consort of Emperor Paul Atreides but quickly realizes that he is loyal to Chani, and would only produce an heir with her.
Florence Pugh will play an important role in Dune 3
Florence Pugh’s Irulan Corrino will be the death of Chani Kynes. Jealous that Paul would not produce heirs with her, she would go on to spike Chani’s food with dangerous contraceptives that would prevent her from having a child. Chani eventually manages to give Paul twins, named Leto II and Ghanima. However, thanks to the contraceptives Irulan slipped into her food, Chani would pass away, leaving Paul to take care of the kids. ‘
During his exile with the Freman, Paul’s mother Jessica gives birth to her last child from Leto Atreides, Alia, who would compete with Irulan to be the guardian of the kids. After Paul loses his precognition and biological vision, as per Freman law, he abdicates his throne and goes into exile. Alia comments that Irulan ‘reeks of trustworthiness’ and hence lets her become the guardian of the children.
However, Florence Pugh‘s character becomes an important historian in the Dune universe, producing a ton of literature about the Rise and the Fall of Paul Atreides and also that of Leto the Younger, who would go on to become the tyrannical God Emperor of Mankind.
