Warning: Spoilers below Dune: Part 2 has finally hit theaters and, among many other reasons it’s already likely to be one of the biggest movies of the year, the sequel finally features Zendaya in a major role—AKA, as a much more prominent figure than just the ethereal desert woman in Paul Atreides’ (Timothee Chalamet) dreams in Dune: Part One. The sequel picks up right where the first left off, with Paul and his mother, the Bene Gesserit witch Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), joining a group of indigenous Fremen in the wake of the Harkonnens’ massacre on House Atreides. While Paul remains Dune’s increasingly questionable protagonist, the perspective of Zendaya's Chani—a Fremen warrior who doesn’t believe in the prophecy that Paul is a savior—is pivotal to understanding where director Denis Villeneuve is trying to take Dune. These films are based on Frank Herbert’s books, which were written to comment on colonialism, religion, white saviorism, and the perils of saviorism more generally. At a Monday screening of Dune: Part 2 in New York City, Villeneuve spoke about the role of Chani’s character in the sequel to clarify that Paul’s arc is meant to critique rather than glorify Messianic figures who promise to free the oppressed. The film centers largely around Paul’s inner conflict with his own maybe destiny—that is, to become a Messianic figure—and his desire to simply work alongside the Fremen toward liberation. Many of the Fremen believe Paul will liberate them from the Empire’s oppression and conquer the universe, and Paul's own mother is determined to make that prophecy come true at any cost. This is all further complicated by Paul’s budding romance with Chani. But by the final stretch of the movie, Paul is set up by his mother—who has become the Fremens’ Reverend Mother and is determined to make him into the prophesized Kwisatz Haderach, as she believes this will protect him from harm—and drinks the sandworm-procured Water of Life. The water moves him to embrace his identity as the Fremens’ savior, empowering them to destroy the Harkonnens and the Emperor and unite around Paul to go to war against the other great houses and help him ascend the throne. Chani is disgusted and horrified by Paul’s transformation; in one especially chilling scene, she tries to warn other Fremen that blind belief in saviors is “how they enslave us,” but is silenced. The Fremens’ worship of Paul is so intense that they’re prepared to wage a potentially catastrophic holy war across the universe in his name, as Paul has foreseen in his visions. In the books, Villeneuve says he noticed how Chani’s character faded to a more tangential role after Paul rose to power, as she goes along with his Messianic arc, becomes his concubine, and bears his children. At the same time, Villeneuve noted that Herbert was frustrated with the reception to his books: “He felt that the readers misunderstood [his books], that people saw the celebration of Paul Atreides," Villeneuve said. "But for him, he wanted the book to be a warning, a cautionary tale regarding Messianic figures.” [caption id="attachment_559934" align="aligncenter" width="676"] Warner Bros[/caption] In order “to correct that perception,” Villeneuve continued, Herbert wrote the sequel to Dune—Dune: Messiah. Knowing this, Villeneuve said, “I did my edition, not trying to be faithful, specifically, to the book, but to Frank Herbert’s initial desires.” Essentially, in order to help audiences consider Paul’s rise through a more critical lens, Villeneuve gifts us with his version of Chani, a skeptic whose disdain for the prophecies delivers on Herbert’s core intentions with Dune and its critique of saviors. “In order to show the…
