Dune How The Characters Are Supposed To Look (According To The Books)

Dune: How The Characters Are Supposed To Look (According To The Books)

Contents

1 Dune: How The Characters Are Supposed To Look (According To The Books)

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune is here, and while some of the cast look perfect, others look different from the characters in the books by Frank Herbert.

You Are Reading :[thien_display_title]

With the strength of a coriolis storm across the deserts of Arrakis, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune has swept the globe with a cinematic vision as grand as Frank Herbert’s epic sci-fi series. Beginning with the titular book in 1965, Herbert fundamentally changed the landscape of the genre with his saga centered on young Paul Atreides, the favored son of Duke Leto I and Lady Jessica, destined to become the leader of the Fremen and shape the desert world of Arrakis into a paradise. The scope of his world-building and the strength of his story created a lasting legacy and legions of fans.

While much of what they’ve been waiting for has remained true to Herbert’s telling, Villeneuve and his creative team have made some changes to the sprawling cast of characters. From prophetic hero Paul Atreides to the villainous Baron Harkonnen, this comparison highlights the way they’re described in the pages of the books versus what they look like in Part 1 of Villeneuve’s definitive version.

Paul Atreides

Paul is the main protagonist of Dune and the heir of House Atreides. He receives a fair amount of detailed description beginning in the first chapter of the novel, and is described as having a small build, with black hair, “an oval face”, “long lashes”, “thin nose”, and a strong bone structure.

In all of these respects, Paul Atreides looks nearly picture-perfect in the film, looking every bit the offspring of both Lady Jessica with her oval face and Leto I with his sharp features. His stringy lankiness appropriately sets him apart from the heavier set Arrakeen natives, and being played by the always likable Timothée Chalamet, he retains the moody, lone-wolf quality he’s known for in the books.

Lady Jessica

Lady Jessica is the mother of Paul Atreides and romantic partner of Duke Leto I, and in many ways, her choices most affect the trajectory of the book’s plot aside from anything Paul does. Paul may be the hero, but she has the power. One of the most prominent aspects of her description throughout the first book is her “bronze hair”, which resurfaces several times, as well as her slim build and full lips.

The “Lady of Caladan” is ideally represented onscreen by Rebecca Ferguson, with a physical description to match the aura of strength she exudes, which more than any other physical attribute is essential. After all, it was Lady Jessica who defied the Bene Gesserit, Dune’s telepathic order of witches, to have Paul in the first place.

Duke Leto I

Duke Leto I, head of House Atreides and father to Paul Atreides, is often noted for his “dark olive skin”, very angular features, and gray eyes. It is specifically stated that the Duke is of Greek descent, and should therefore look like he comes from lands with “olive groves and golden sun on blue waters”.

With his hawkish features, tan skin, and wavy black hair, Oscar Isaac as the Duke appears to leap off the pages of Herbert’s novel, and it’s clear that Paul gets many of his features from his father, though the Duke is known for being taller than his son and Isaac and Chalamet appear the same height.

Gurney Halleck

In the book, Gurney Halleck has wispy blond hair and is balding, giving the Warmaster for House Atreides a distinct appearance among his peers, particularly with the scar (given to him by an inkvine whip) across his mouth. Halleck is known to be a strong fighter, not an attractive man.

He’s one of the more noticeably different characters in the film, appearing with a much more powerful build, a full head of hair, and a beard. He’s also much more handsome than expected as played by the rugged Josh Brolin.

Duncan Idaho

The right-hand of the Duke and a swordmaster for House Atreides, Duncan Idaho figures prominently as a warrior in the first Dune book, often in the defense of young Paul and his family. He’s described as having “dark skin”, a “round face” and curly hair “like the fur of a black goat”.

The film sees a beefier-than-normal Jason Momoa commit to the physical description –as well as the intense fighting workout– of the famed swordsman, though his dark blonde hair differs from Duncan’s noted brunette locks. Ultimately, his build and other aspects of his imposing stature fit the role.

Chani Kynes

Chani Kynes is known for appearing in Paul’s dreams as a “very skinny” girl with enormous eyes and flaming red hair. Though he doesn’t know her identity, their destinies become entwined once he gets exiled into the Arrakis desert and enters into relations with the Fremen he encounters there.

In the film, when Paul and Lady Jessica are captured by Chani and a band of Fremen and he realizes who she is, she retains a thin frame and dark eyes (that occasionally turn blue), with hair that only appears tawny when the sun hits it. Fremen are often described as resembling a variety of ethnicities, making Zendaya better conceived for the role than even Herbert could have imagined.

Stilgar

Stilgar is a leader among the Fremen who comes to Arrakeen to deliberate with the Duke about the future of the relationship between House Atreides and his people. In the book, he’s not a very imposing man, with a “thin nose and full-lipped mouth in a glistening black beard.”

He’s a much more powerfully built man in the movie, and when he arrives in Arrakeen and removes his facial covering to converse with the Duke, his features are prominent and strong. As played by Javier Bardem, known for playing truly memorable villains, he’s an ambiguous, confrontational character whose true intentions are never truly known.

Dr. Wellington Yeuh

Dr. Wellington Yeuh, the physician to House Atreides and personal doctor of Paul and his family, is notable for his “long black hair” and “square-shaped head”, with “purple lips and a drooping mustache”, traits that paint a very vivid description in the first book.

Dr. Yeuh doesn’t retain long hair in the film, and Chen Chang doesn’t present the “fleshless stick figure” in baggy clothing that Paul and Lady Jessica often report Yeuh to be, but his other features are more or less in keeping with how they describe him, right down to the diamond tattoo from Imperial Conditioning that resides on his forehead.

Thufir Hawat

Thufir Hawat is the longtime head of security for House Atreides, with his status as a Mentat and Master of Assassins ensuring that he keeps Paul and the royal family safe. He doesn’t receive a great deal of description, except the mention of his “old, leathery skin” and having “drug-induced energy in his movements.”

Hawat appears to look old enough to have served House Atreides for three generations, but the film doesn’t indicate that he has any great deal of energy from substances of any kind. As played by Stephen McKinley Henderson, the character enjoys a convivial relationship with both the Duke and Paul.

Baron Vladimir Harkonnen

One of the greatest enemies of House Atreides, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen is a powerful influence on its fate and makes a prominent impression on its members. Lady Jessica, Leto, and Paul note his “fat-child fingers”, his “rumbling voice”, “fat cherubic cheeks” and his “spider-black eyes.”

As he appears in the film, Baron Harkonnen is a hulking man whose girth is supported by means of levitation. He has an enormous appetite for food as well as acts of sadism and intones his threats with the same booming inflection as the novel. Though he doesn’t have a great amount of screen time, the acting by Stellan Skarsgard ensures he’s easily one of the best villains in any Denis Villeneuve film.

Glossu Rabban Harkonnen

Known as “The Beast”, Glossu Rabban Harkonnen is the older nephew of Baron Harkonnen, and charged with running House Harkonnen affairs on Arrakis. The Baron, in truth, favors his younger nephew Feyd-Rautha, but he won’t appear until Part 2. The Beast is described as being as cruel as the rest of his family members, but having very little intelligence — “a muscle-minded tank-brain.”

As he appears in the movie played by Dave Bautista, he comes across as aggressive, but not completely lacking in intelligence — he correctly recognizes that allowing Lady Jessica and Paul to be exiled (rather than killing them) provides them a chance to enact revenge on House Harkonnen. He nevertheless lets them go after leading the attack on House Atreides, reclaiming Arrakis –and its spice– for House Harkonnen once more.

Liet Kynes

A planetologist that serves the Emperor, Liet Kynes is often torn between his devotion to the Imperium and the Fremen. In Herbert’s novel, he is tall, thin, and has “long sandy hair [with] a sparse beard” and “fathomless blue eyes under heavy brows”. He’s also the father of Chani Kynes.

Liet Kynes is a planetologist in the movie and also the “Judge of Change”, but the character is now played by Sharon Duncan-Brewster who –as far as anyone knows– has no familial relationship with Chani. She remains a secret Fremen leader, and does help Paul and Lady Jessica escape the Harkonnen attack on Arrakeen.

Shadout Mapes

Shadout Mapes is introduced as the new housekeeper for the Atreides family after their move to Arrakeen, though Lady Jessica suspects the Fremen woman has been sent to test her. She doesn’t receive much description in the book, and the moment she shares with Lady Jessica is important only to cement the fact that the Bene Gesserit have successfully embedded legends of a coming messiah into Fremen culture.

Similar to the novel, Mapes presents Lady Jessica with a crysknife, though in the movie it’s as a gift instead of a means to kill her. Her behavior around Lady Jessica suggests she believes her –and her son– to be very important to the prophecy of the one who will free her people from oppression.

Piter De Vries

A cunning Mentat used to carry out the twisted machinations of House Harkkonen, Piter de Vries is described as being “slender” as well as short, with an “effeminate face” and a tenor voice that has a “sweet, musical quality.” A rival to Thufir Hawat of House Atreides, he plays a substantial role in the first book, carrying out schemes with all the precision of the computers his mind is supposed to take the place of.

Not much is shown in the movie to emphasize Piter de Vries’ exceptional mental prowess against House Atreides, but he does oversee raising the Emperor’s army to aid House Harkonnen’s retaking of Arrakis. David Dastmalchian winningly conveys de Vries’s delicate nature and soft voice as he skulks in the shadows doing the Baron’s bidding.

Gaius Helen Mohiam

The first book isn’t terribly kind to the Reverend Mother, emphasizing her “bulky female shape”, with “hair like matted spiderwebs” and “pale gums around silvery metal teeth” when described by Paul. The Baron doesn’t have anything kinder to say about her, viewing her as a stereotypical witch-like hag, with “sunken cheeks, an overlong nose” and “protruding veins”.

In the movie, Charlotte Rampling’s Gaius Helen Mohiam is given much more decorum (and has one of the best outfits of the movie), emphasizing her importance as the Emperor’s Truthsayer as well as the Reverend Mother of the Bene Gesserit. Much of her face is shielded by a veil, but from what viewers can see, she’s hardly a hideous witch.

Jamis

Jamis was a Fremen of Stilgar’s seitch who came to Paul in visions as a friend, but whom he met as an enemy when Jamis challenged Paul and Lady Jessica’s right to join them after their exile from Arrakeen. He was eventually bested in combat by Paul, and described as being a “ferocious fighter”.

The movie focuses primarily on the duel between Jamis and Paul, in which Paul only succeeds in killing Jamis after he casts aside visions of his own death and surrenders to the mercurial way of the desert. Jamis is a key character in the book whose death acts as Paul’s first step into a prophetic role he is doomed to assume, but his true importance may not come until Part 2 when Paul must incorporate Jamis’s family into his own.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/dune-character-looks-appearance-books-vs-2021-movie/

Movies -