Dune 2 has been a revelation, with critics and fans alike raving about Denis Villeneuve’s vision for Frank Herbert’s novel. The second part of the intended trilogy is a visual masterpiece, no doubt, but is no way lacking in terms of storytelling either. Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts wrote a wonderful screenplay for the movie based on the epic that is Dune, but what many fans might have noticed with after both films, is that it does not follow the novel to the T.
Skipping out on many major plot points – like the Mentats and the Spacing Guild, the director’s main focus has been on Paul’s story in Arrakis as well as the Bene Gesserit’s influenece throughout the Imperium. He has also given way more agency to the character of Chani than what she had in the novels. And that is being praised by the audience (for the most part). Let’s delve a little deeper into the machinations of how this will affect the next installment when it comes on screen.
Zendaya’s Chani Leaving at the End of Dune 2 Is A Major Digression
At the end of Dune 2, we see Chani leaving on a sandworm, whereabouts are unknown, which is a major digression from the novels. In Frank Herbert’s epic, Chani is fiercely loyal to Paul and follows him in his ascension as the Fremen messiah. But in the movie, Chani does not believe in the prophecy or the religion that is rampant in the South of Arrakis.
As Zendaya‘s Chani says to Paul in Dune 2, the Southerners are firm believers, but she and her faction believe in their people, not the prophecy. She thinks that believing in the prophecy and its fulfillment will enslave them – only shifting their master.
In the books, though, Chani follows Paul blindly and believes in their love, even after his marriage to Princess Irulan. She stands united with Lady Jessica, defending Paul from all else. But her character is not as layered as Denis Villeneuve has managed to make it in his iteration in the movies. Her leaving after Paul declares himself the next Emperor is a stark contrast to the books. Though we may not know where she is going, riding the sandworm, we can surely speculate that she creates distance between her and Paul and their relationship to gain her independence back.
How Chani’s Departure at The End of Dune 2 Will Effect Dune 3
Chani leaving Paul at the end of Dune 2 comes from a place of pain and betrayal. She had told Paul previously that she would always stay with him as long as he didn’t change. But him drinking the Water of Life, and then Chani reviving him with her tears, was seen as a betrayal by his lover – who did not want him to become the mahdi. And though initially Paul himself wanted to stay away from the prophecy, he changed his mind by the end to ascend as what the Fremen call Lisan-al-Gaib.
And now, the next movie will finally bring the Holy War to the surface. What Paul feared in his visions in the beginning is what he ends up moving towards at the end of the movie. Timothée Chalamet‘s Paul Atreides will unite the Fremen, in the name of religion, in his war against the rest of the Imperium. As they refuse to acknowledge his ascension as the new Emperor, the war has already begun, and Arrakis will now become the battleground for the Holy War in Dune 3, if that is the direction Villeneuve decides to move towards (which seems the most likely).
Dune 2 is currently in theatres worldwide.
