Dune: Part Two – What Is Paul Atreides So Afraid Of?

The new trailer for Dune: Part Two teases some very big conflicts to come in this epic sci-fi franchise. We see Timothee Chalamet’s Paul Atreides uniting the Fremen of Arrakis and leading a rebellion against the Imperium. We even finally catch a glimpse of Christopher Walken’s character, the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV. 

But one thing the trailer makes clear is that Dune: Part Two is no simple war story. This isn’t just a tale of Paul seeking vengeance for the losses he suffered in the first movie. Something has Paul very afraid, and it’s a fear that only grows as the Fremen rally to his cause.

So what is Paul so afraid of? Why is he so reluctant to become the messiah the Fremen believe him to be? Let’s break down the real conflict of the Dune series.

Becoming Paul Muad’Dib Atreides

Dune: Part Two looks to pick up shortly after the ending of the original, as Paul and his mother, Rebecca Ferguson’s Lady Jessica, are brought to live among the Fremen in the desert wastelands of Arrakis. We can see that some of the Fremen still mistrust Paul, but he quickly proves himself worthy of joining their number. Paul even takes a new name that we hear spoken in the trailer – Paul Muad’Dib Atreides.

Muad’Dib is the name of a species of kangaroo mouse native to Arrakis. That might not seem like a very impressive title for a guy meant to lead an intergalactic revolution, but any creature that can survive the punishing climate of Arrakis is deserving of respect. Paul recognizes this, and choosing the Muad’Dib as his namesake is part of what helps ingratiate himself to the Fremen.

That’s not the only new name given to Paul after he joins the Fremen. They come to refer to him as Mahdi, which translates to “The one who will lead us to paradise.” They even come to view Paul as a figure known as the Lisan al-Gaib, or “the voice from the outer world.” Basically, the Fremen have prophecies about a messianic figure who will come from the stars and lead them to a new golden age. The longer Paul spends among them, the more Javier Bardem’s Stilgar and the rest come to believe Paul is the messiah they were promised.

And it’s not just Paul who wins over these desert nomads. His mother Lady Jessica also becomes a very important figure in their ranks. The trailer shows more snippets of a pivotal scene where Jessica undergoes the ritual to become a Reverend Mother, like Charlotte Rampling’s creepy character from the first film. This requires her to drink a consciousness-expanding substance known as the Water of Life, something that can be fatal to anyone who’s not fully in control of their psychic abilities. If she succeeds, Jessica gains access to her Other Memory, allowing her access to the genetic memories of all her female ancestors.

Paul has his own tests and rituals to pass in Dune: Part Two, including the rite of passage where all adult Fremen summon and ride a Sandworm. In the end, if he can pass these tests and truly become the messiah the Fremen believe him to be, then he’ll have an army of millions of fanatical warriors ready to help him take on the Imperium. There’s just one catch. Paul isn’t sure that’s what he wants at all.

Paul’s Terrible Purpose

The trailer shows us that Paul has a deep fear of what lies ahead in his future. The original Dune novel frequently refers to this as Paul’s “terrible purpose.” As his psychic powers begin to blossom and Paul uses the spice melange to peer into the future, he sees glimpses of the holy prophet and leader he’s apparently destined to become. He sees himself becoming the figurehead of a war that rages across the stars and claims countless billions of lives. 

The first movie alluded to this in Paul’s vision, where we see him on the field of battle and the Fremen are cheering on the water-rich world of Caladan. If things keep progressing as they are, the Fremen will eventually leave their homeworld and launch a crusade that covers the galaxy in blood. This is what Paul fears. Not just that he may be the one responsible for so much bloodshed, but that he may have to accept this destiny even though he very much doesn’t want it.

The reason Paul views this as his terrible purpose is that his visions suggest his holy war is necessary for the greater good. Overthrowing the Emperor and defeating the Harkonnens is just the start. Many thousands of years in the future, humanity has grown stagnant and stopped evolving. Paul sees that his war may be necessary to shake civilization out of its complacency and help ensure humanity’s ultimate survival. If Paul is right, billions have to die so that trillions more can live. No wonder he’s so afraid of embracing his destiny.

In many ways, this is the real conflict of the Dune franchise. It’s less a story about wars between rival houses and control of the all-important spice than it is an examination of how powerful people deal with being given knowledge of the future. Can fate be averted and destinies rewritten? Do the ends justify the means when the means involve the deaths of billions of innocent people?

In many ways, this is the real conflict of the Dune franchise.

One thing that starts to become clear in Dune: Part Two is that Paul isn’t really the hero of this story. How can you call someone who’s contemplating mass murder on a cosmic scale a hero? This is something writer Frank Herbert was very conscious of when he penned the original novels.  

Herbert famously said, “I wrote the Dune series because I had this idea that charismatic leaders ought to come with a warning label on their forehead: ‘May be dangerous to your health.’” 

The moral of the new trailer is that we shouldn’t just be afraid for Paul Atreides, but afraid of him. He’s clearly a charismatic leader who’s attracting a lot of fanatical worshipers. We should all be afraid of what Paul might ultimately do with this incredible power.

The Other Major Characters In the Trailer

Paul may be the focus of the new trailer for Dune: Part Two, but this isn’t just his story. There are several other important characters here, and it’s worth taking a step back to examine how they fit into the plot and Paul’s bloody crusade.

The trailer marks the first time we see Christopher Walken as the Padishah Emperor. This is Paul’s true enemy, even more than Stellan Skarsgard’s Baron Harkonnen. The Emperor has been the secret hand behind the fall of House Atreides. He sensed the growing threat posed by Oscar Isaac’s Duke Leto Atreides – a popular leader who could potentially unite many of the smaller houses against the likes of House Harkonnen and the Emperor’s own family, House Corrino. The Emperor has taken advantage of the centuries-old feud between the Atreides and Harkonnens to eliminate this perceived threat without taking any overt action.

In short, the Emperor is a crafty guy. We briefly see him conspiring with Lea Seydoux’s character, Lady Margot. He got rid of Duke Leto, and he’ll do whatever it takes to neutralize Paul next.

Paul also has a lot to fear from another new face in Dune: Part Two, Austin Butler’s Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. Feyd is the nephew of Baron Harkonnen and the man most likely to succeed his uncle as the head of their house. He’s also the younger brother of Dave Bautista’s Glossu Raban. 

As we see in the trailer, Feyd is a deadly fighter whose skills clearly rival the best warriors House Atreidea or the Fremen have to offer. Feyd is a master of the blade, and he augments his skill by coating his blades in deadly poisons. Never trust a Harkonnen to fight fair. 

Feyd is also notable because he, like Paul, is part of the Bene Gesserit breeding program designed to produce the perfect superhuman known as the Kwisatz Haderach. If you remember from the first film, Lady Jessica was in trouble with the order because she failed to produce the daughter the Bene Gesserit required for their plans. The Bene Gesserit are trying to salvage their breeding program in the aftermath of House Atreides’ fall, so they have a clear interest in this brewing conflict between Paul and Feyd. That’s also where Lady Margot really comes into play in the sequel.

Finally, the trailer features the return of Josh Brolin’s Gurney Halleck. Having failed to save his Duke, Gurney has now signed on with a group of spice smugglers on Arrakis and is biding his time until he can have his revenge against the Harkonnens. This reunion with Paul might be just the opportunity Gurney has been waiting for. We see Gurney urge Paul to ignore his fears and embrace the role the Fremen have laid out for him.

That speaks to one of the more interesting questions in the Dune universe. Are the prophecies surrounding Paul and the Lisan al-Gaib genuine, or are they simply stories planted by outsiders like the Bene Gesserit? When you have access to a drug that allows you to see the future, is every prophecy a self-fulfilling one? Paul clearly doesn’t put much stock in the idea of being the Fremen’s messiah, but men like Stilgar do.

And once again, we arrive at the real heart of the conflict in Dune: Part Two. This is about more than overthrowing an emperor or earning some well-deserved revenge. This movie is about whether Paul Atreides can accept the path laid out before him. Can he be the monster humanity supposedly needs? Or is there another way? We’ll find out when Dune: Part Two hits theaters in November 2023.

Want to read more about Dune: Part Two? Check out how The Last of Us showrunner contributed to the film’s script as well as our rundown of the new characters in Dune: Part Two.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.