I can't tell you how many times I yelled "the traitor is right there" at my copy of Dune. Yueh's betrayal lends a tragic dramatic irony to the first part of Herbert's Dune, making the fall of House Atreides even more painful (and frustrating) to watch. But the traitor reveal comes after the Harkonnen attack is already in motion.įor a book and movie fan like me, this is the only change that doesn't work. This entire sequence is missing from Villeneuve's Dune - perhaps because so much of it takes place in dialogue or in people's thoughts, but probably because it would involve a bunch of powerful male characters we're supposed to like (including Oscar Isaac) ganging up on the movie's only powerful female protagonist.Īs viewers, we are somewhat aware that the Atreides have been set up to fail and that they are walking into a trap. Meanwhile, Herbert reveals early on that the real traitor is Dr. Even though Duke Leto knows Jessica would never hurt him, he plays along in an attempt to lure out the real traitor. The Harkonnens deliberately implicate Lady Jessica to sow discord. PicturesĪfter the Harkonnens' hunter-seeker nearly kills Paul in the novel, the Atreides realize that they have a traitor in their midst. Who cares about the traitor?ĭon't mess with Lady Jessica: the movie chose not to have her be accused of treachery. It's hard enough to like the superrich Atreides in 2021 as it is. Which, given the fact that our Atreides "heroes" are shown wastefully pouring out precious water as part of an aristocratic ceremony, is probably for the best.
The novel's political centerpiece, an extended dinner sequence starring House Atreides and several of the most powerful people on Arrakis, is a notable omission. And it's a problem Villeneuve avoids by cutting the book's most dense political scenes entirely. Which is much harder to do in a movie without relying on voiceover, like David Lynch's Dune did. Herbert often focuses on what's going on inside his characters' heads so readers can see their thought processes in real time, which is perfect for scenes of political machination. Picturesĭune is a heavily political novel featuring long discussions rife with subtext and veiled threats. The weird floating Baron is in the movie - just not as much as he is in the book.
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