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Beware of spoilers to a potential thirdDunemovie as well as theDunenovels.Denis Villeneuve quite possibly delivered this generation’sLord of the Ringstrilogy. After Peter Jackson delivered his cinematic adaptation to audiences,Lord of the Ringsbecame the most talked-about series of movies and boosted sales for the J.R.R. Tolkein novels. Just likeLOTR,Duneis filled with an immense amount of lore surrounding the characters, creatures, organizations, and entire planets.
Just as some might wonder ifAragorn was a good Kingwhen he wore the crown,Dunefans wonder what happened toPaul after his rise to power. Unlike Tolkein’s novels,Dunecontinued for some time after the original novel, expanding on the lore and actions of beloved characters like Paul Atreides. This gives fans a rare opportunity to see what happened after the credits rolled.
Paul Atreides Rules as Emperor
Denis Vileneuve’sDune: Part Twosaw Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) usurp Emperor Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken) and take the throne for himself. He couldn’t have done it without a little help from the Fremen, as well as a little Bene Gesserit superstition and prophecy spreading throughout Fremen society. But what happened after the Emperor acquiesced to Paul’s demands? Well, it wasn’t a period of peace.
As the end of the film explains, the major Houses of the Empire refuse to recognize Paul as Emperor, so the Fremen fight for him, waging a holy war across the known universe in his name. After a 12-year period, Paul and his Fremen beat those who opposed them into submission. However, even after the war concluded, Paul experienced resistance from outsiders both in the open and on a clandestine battlefield.
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Books Featuring Paul
ThroughoutDune Messiah, a cabal of high-powered individuals work against Paul in the shadows. One of the agents within the cabal is a representative from theBene Tleilaxu, a secretive group of genetic engineers. His first machination to usurp Paul in the form of a ghola, a clone, of Duncan Idaho named Hayt. Another is a dwarf named Bijaz, who acts like a recording machine capable of remembering every detail he sees and hears.
One of Paul’s most loyal Fremen servants gives Bijaz to Paul because he carries inside his memory the names of all the Fremen conspirators against Paul. After retrieving the dwarf from his follower, the conspirators use a bomb called a stone burner on Paul’s area. This not only levels the area, but also permanently blinds Paul. However,his ability to see the future allows him to still see his surroundingsas if his eyesight was never taken.
It’s only when Chani dies during childbirth and Hayt stops himself from killing Paul, undermining the Tleilaxu programming and regaining his memories as Duncan Idaho, that Paul’s ability to see the future dissipates. Paul chooses tohonor the Frementradition that demands blind Fremen wander into the desert alone, because they’re a burden on the tribe. He does this to secure Fremen fealty for his children, who will inherit the Empire once they come of age.
The Preacher Against Paul Atreides
Children of Dunetakes place nine years afterDune Messiah,and focuses on Paul’s children. It also introduces the reader to a character simply named The Preacher. Nobody knows anything about The Preacher, other than that he is blind and came from the desert one day, eerily similar to how Paul Muad’Dib Atreides went out inDune Messiah. Many characters, including his own son Leto II andDuncan Idaho, speculate that this Preacher could be Paul.
The Preacherearned his name by preaching traditional Fremen beliefs,along with protesting the empire that Paul created and the religion of Muad’Dib. Naturally, this upsets Alia and pushes her to silence him. While Leto II is out forging his Golden Path, he confronts The Preacher in the desert and gives him one final task. Unfortunately, this task leads to his violent demise, but his assassination gives Leto the opportunity to confront his Aunt Alia and ascend to the throne as Emperor.
While that’s the end of Paul Atreides in physical form in anything Frank Herbert wrote, Paul remains an ancestral memory with which Leto II can converse, thanks to him beingpre-born like his Aunt Alia.
Paul Atreides Beyond Frank Herbert’s Novels
Despite Paul meeting his physical demise inChildren of Dune, Brian Herbert, the son of the original author Frank Herbert, had other plans.Frank Herbert wrote sixDunebooks, ending withChapterhouse: Dune. However, that last novel ended on a significant cliffhanger and left fans without a suitable conclusion to the overall story. Brian, claiming to base his ideas on notes from his father, decided to finish the story with the help of science fiction author Kevin J. Anderson.
Brian and Kevin greatly expanded theDuneuniverse with dozens of novels, mostly prequels and spin-offs, some of which will be the basis for HBO’sDune: Prophecy.What’s more, they also finished Frank’s story. In 2006, the duo published the first part of their two-part conclusion to Frank’s main story,Hunters of Dune. The story concluded withSandworms of Dunein 2007.
In these novels, the writers chose torevive Paul by bringing him back as a ghola, similar to Duncan Idaho’s return inDune Messiah. This ghola-Paul claims Paul’s original name and goes on his own journey. However, his final moments have been divisive among fans. Herbert and Anderson gave him a relatively happy ending, but fans of the books were torn on whether Paul deserved such an ending, since he was always written as adark and tragic character.
