Dune: Half Three – Adapting Dune Messiah and Kids of Dune


This text comprises spoilers for Dune Messiah and Kids of Dune.Dune: Half Three will reportedly mark the top of Denis Villeneuve’s massively acclaimed sci-fi trilogy, taking inspiration from Frank Herbert’s controversial novel Dune Messiah. The story takes place a number of years after Paul Atreides’ victory on the finish of Dune: Half 2, as his enemies conspire to carry an finish to his tyrannical reign.

There are numerous theories about Dune 3 floating across the web, however Villeneuve has remained uncharacteristically quiet about his upcoming sequel, which is about for launch in December 2026. The story of Dune Messiah is famously tough to adapt, which implies that Villeneuve’s third film could not be as cut-and-dry because the earlier two, which ended up being pretty loyal and genuine variations.

Dune 3 Incorporating Kids Of Dune Would Be Tough To Get Proper

Customized picture by Yailin Chacon.

Following the announcement that Villeneuve’s third film can be titled Dune: Half 3, many have begun to invest that it gained’t solely be an adaptation of Messiah, however somewhat a mixture of two completely different Dune sequel tales. If that is so, it logically follows that Dune: Half 3 might be incorporating some parts of Kids of Dune into its narrative.

Kids of Dune is the third ebook in Frank Herbert’s collection, and, traditionally, one of the crucial divisive. The ebook takes place 9 years after Messiah (which itself takes place twelve years after Dune), and follows Paul Atreides’ younger kids as they try to revive energy to the Imperium and shield the ecology of Arrakis.

The principle credence behind this idea is that Dune Messiah is solely a really small ebook compared to Dune; the narrative is pretty skinny, and far of its storytelling comes from quiet character moments and hushed politics. It doesn’t have the epic scale of Herbert’s first novel, so it could be logical to borrow some features from a extra plot-heavy ebook like Kids of Dune.

The principle drawback with this method is that Kids of Dune takes place a few years after Dune Messiah, and it could take some large readjustments to make the tales line up. Leto II and Ghanima, the protagonists of Kids of Dune, haven’t been born but in Villeneuve’s films, and so they doubtless gained’t be round till the ending of Dune Messiah.

This implies any storylines involving Leto and Ghanima are basically inconceivable to adapt till Paul’s kids are born, and Paul’s kids cant be born till characters like Scytale, Edric, and Hayt have been launched in Dune: Half Three. One film merely isn’t sufficient time to introduce all these characters – and that’s ignoring the evident drawback of the nine-year time soar.

The one facet of Kids of Dune that would feasibly be launched into Dune: Half 3 is the ecological transformation of Arrakis. As predicted by Liet-Kynes within the first ebook, the Fremen handle to reliably carry water and vegetation to Arrakis in Kids of Dune on account of Emperor Paul’s common jihad. Nevertheless, the Fremen quickly understand that their terraforming of the planet is killing the sand worms.

This may be an attention-grabbing subplot for Villeneuve to introduce in Dune: Half Three, however the issue is that it will possibly’t be absolutely resolved till Leto II is born. Similar to Paul, Leto II has visions of a so-called “Golden Path” that can carry stability to Arrakis, and this is how he manages to guard the worms and the spice.

With out having Leto round to resolve this subplot, it doesn’t make sense to incorporate it in any respect. Dune: Half Three would merely really feel unfinished, and there’s no affirmation that Dune 4 is occurring in any respect. It might be an enormous disgrace to see this unbelievable trilogy finish and not using a decision to this subplot, so the most secure resolution is to stay solely to the plot of Dune Messiah.

Messiah Is A Excellent Ending To Paul Atreides’ Story

Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert cover

Past the logistical difficulties of this resolution, there’s one easy undeniable fact that makes Dune Messiah the proper finish level (for now) of the franchise: this ebook marks the conclusion of Paul Atreides’ storyline. Whereas there are some sensible subplots in Herbert’s later novels, they primarily comply with a brand new set of characters. This shift in perspective can be disorienting in Villeneuve’s films.

There’s an age-old debate about whether or not Paul Atreides is a hero or villain, and Dune Messiah’s ending is the proper manner of acknowledging each sides of this complicated character. After being blinded by an atomic assault on Arrakis, Paul obeys Fremen legislation and exiles himself to the desert, securing his legacy among the many Fremen whereas accepting the results of his violent previous.

It’s straightforward to think about this second as the proper ending to Villeneuve’s Dune trilogy, and pushing ahead into Kids of Dune’s story would merely reduce the impression of this emotional climax. Though Paul technically returns within the third ebook as The Preacher, it’s a lot simpler to think about this self-exile because the true conclusion to his character arc.

Though it’s actually tempting to attract from the extra plot-heavy storytelling of Kids of Dune, there’s nothing stopping Villeneuve from making an equally thrilling film purely out of Messiah. The ebook is crammed with conspiracies, secrecy, alliances, and betrayals that could be much less action-heavy than the primary two Dune films, however will show very rewarding to returning audiences who wish to see the results of Paul Atreides’ victory.

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