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

Summary

• Dune: Messiah's adaptation presents challenges due to its lack of action, focus on politics, and darker, introspective narrative.

• Dune: Part Three may struggle with audience expectations for a blockbuster finale, without high-octane spectacle.

• Villeneuve faces the task of portraying Paul Atreides' negative arc in a politically sensitive climate and risks controversy.

The upcoming adaptation of Dune: The Messiah may be the most anticipated sci-fi project in the near future. But director Denis Villeneuve faces significant obstacles he must overcome to realize his grand vision – perhaps more than anyone else Dune movie or TV show.

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

Why is Dune Messiah Difficult to adapt?

Less action, more politics

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

What happens in Dune Messiah?

Dune Messiah picks up 12 years after Paul Atreides became emperor. During his reign, over 60 billion people have died, yet Paul continues to justify these actions through his visions. His power grows to such uncontrollable lengths that groups such as the Bene Gesserit and the Spacing Guild are forced to conspire to depose him.

Dune Messiah's lack of spectacle

Problems for a trilogy finale

The story of Dune Messiah is a dark and introspective business. Compared to the first book, which had clearly defined villains and dramatic moments like Paul riding a sandworm, this sequel is much less action-packed. The Messiah focuses on palace intrigue, Paul's inner conflicts, and his descent into tyranny. There is little or no room for cinematic set-pieces. Even the wars are mostly discussed as background events, with only the aftermath felt later.

This would be a challenge for audiences expecting high-octane spectacle afterwards Part two. Instead of a blockbuster, they would get a more meditative story about corruption, sacrifice and the dangers of absolute power. If the lukewarm response to Dune: Prophecy taught us anything, it's that this slow, dialogue-heavy tone doesn't have the impact Warner Bros. probably hoped for.

Shows Paul Atreides' problematic arc

Cautionary tale against hero worship

Another big challenge that Villeneuve and his team of writers 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 starting to let power consume him. While the original Dune serves as a cautionary tale against hero worship, Frank Herbert deliberately wrote Dune 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 surrender all your critical faculties to those in power, no matter how admirable those people may appear to be. Beneath the hero facade you find a human being who makes human mistakes. Enormous problems arise when human error is made on the grand scale available to a superhero.

Potential political correctness issues

This sequel must 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 conversation 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 likely not translate well to today's sociopolitical and cultural climate. Also Dune: Prophecy avoided controversy by not naming the Butlerian Jihad as it is called in the books, instead referring to the event as the Machine Wars.

It is unlikely that the producers will fully confront these darker aspects of Paul Atreides' character. On the other hand, softening or leaving them out for public consumption would diminish 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 to handle.

Dune: The Messiah could still be a masterpiece

A reward worth the risk

Not every blockbuster has to include a grand battle in its third act. Despite Dune Messiah being largely a political and religious story, there is still room for high stakes and menacing enemies. Also, the difficulty of adapting Paul's character development continues to prove how great it is. If his arc is portrayed perfectly, it could be an iconic achievement on film to deconstruct the hero archetype on this scale.

The best way to achieve this is to actually depict the war – to show parts of it, rather than starting the story after it has already occurred, as in the book. Villeneuve had already done this in previous films by expanding on elements of Dune which Herbert threw over or relegated to the background. Peter Jackson did something similar with The Lord of the Ringswhere he took relatively small details from the books and turned them into epic scenes.

If anyone is capable of pulling it off, it has to be Denis Villeneuve. The Blade Runner 2049 the director could still choose to take his own creative liberties and incorporate new elements of the holy war to spice it up. Some believe that Dune Messiah novel to be an epilogue to Dunewhile others see it as a companion. However, it's up to Villeneuve to turn it into a signature franchise finale that balances both action and philosophy.