- Warning: spoilers for Dune: Part 2 (movie) and the Dune books
Dune. Who has not heard of Dune at this stage? The name has gone from being pronounced only in literary circles to being on the lips of (almost) everyone. Denis Villeneuve's films have brought Frank Herbert's universe to the big screen… and even to the video game industry with Dune: Awakening.
Villaneuve's work goes beyond making (so far) two sublime adaptations. The director knows very well when to take certain licenses with respect to the books. In fact, he altered a small detail of the fight between Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (Austin Butler), one of the most epic and dramatic scenes in Dune: Part 2which changes her completely… for the better.
It turns out that Feyd-Rautha is not such an honorable character (beyond being a maniac) in the books: he tried to use a poisoned blade located in his boot, but fails to hit Paul. However, Villaneuve decided to omit this action in the film so that the fight was truly fair, honorable and coherent: the paladin Harkonnen sees in Paul a worthy opponent, something he has been looking for since his appearance in the Roman Circus of Giedi Prime . “You have fought well, Atreides,” he says before falling dead on the floor of the palace on Arrakis.
As ScreenRant points out, this small change shows that the film version of Feyd-Rautha is a formidable fighter, just like Paul. He has enough trust and respect for his rival to not resort to tricks to win the battle. We are left with a scene that builds up a lot of tension as it progresses, until the Atreides receives the Harkonnen's stabs… although that is not enough for him to end up winning.
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