Denis Villeneuve’s Dune is a 21st-century adaptation of a 20th-century classic, which gives the filmmaker some leeway to adapt the book with some modern-day sensibilities. And according to him, one of the aspects of the original work that needed a major overhaul was the attention it paid to its female characters. “For me, it was important to bring more femininity to the story,” Villeneuve recently tole Empire Magazine. “I am fascinated by the relationship of femininity and power, the place of women in society.”
Dune has some prominent female characters to work with. For instance, there’s Lady Jessica — the mother of Paul Atreides and the concubine to his father, Duke Leto. Because of her amazing abilities as a Bene Gesserit, Villeneuve may see to give her a bigger role in the film.
“ Eric Roth said, ‘If you had one aspect of the novel you would like me to focus on, what would it be?'” Villeneuve remembered. “I said, ‘The women.’ The entire story unfolds because of Lady Jessica, because of a decision she made to give birth to Paul instead of a girl . She’s a fascinating character, one of the most influential and most interesting in the novel.”
Lady Jessica and Chani will be a big part of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune
It’s interesting that Villeneuve says he wants to bring “more femininity” into his film. I think Villeneuve is hoping to bring some balance to this otherwise masculine-leaning tale about the rivalry between House Atreides and House Harkonnen. Duke Leto, Doctor Yueh, Duncan Idaho, Thufir Hawat, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen…there are a lot of prominent male characters, and the list goes on. Compare that to something like Game of Thrones where women are featured prominently throughout — Sansa Stark, Daenerys Targaryen, and Cersei Lannister just to name a few — and Dune has some catching up to do.
And while Villeneuve referred to Lady Jessica specifically, I’d be interested to see how his vision affects the character of Chani. The character, played by Zendaya, is likely to have a bigger role in the sequel than the first film, assuming it gets made. We’ll likely see the seeds of that expansion planted in the first movie as she and Paul begin their romantic relationship.
As Indiewire mentions, Dune’s co-screenwriter Eric Roth has been nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay five times for movies like Forrest Gump and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. So even if they are taking the story in a slightly new direction, it seems like the script was placed in good hands.
Dune opens in U.S. theaters and on HBO Max on October 22.
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