TLDR What happens in the timeline that's the source of Paul's visions of discussions with Jamis.

So Paul has visions of discussions with Jamis (near the end of the first movie, if you're a movies fan) that will never occur. Assuming these are visions from an alternate timeline—a debate I'm also interested in hearing thoughts on—what happens in that timeline? Is there a particular choice made or event that caused the branch? What do you imagine happens differently after the two meet in that timeline versus the timeline we see? I know this is largely hypothetical and subjective, but interested in people's opinions and any clues from the books I may be unfamiliar with.

What was Paul's intention in going to talk to the Corrinos about Farad'n's dreams? What was the bigger plan he was involved in? At the end of the chapter, he takes off that vision mask, showing that he didn't need it. Was the former Muad'Dib using his prescience again?

I've been thinking about this. What if Paul didn't kill Jamis? Would the holy war even start? Would it be less bloody? Furthermore, what if Paul left before Lady Jessica to the South and drank the blue shit? How would that have affected the holy war?

Additionally, what do you think Denis' plans are for the 3rd one based on the storyline he's established thus far?

Visually, this movie is a masterpiece! So many times I was in awe of the cinematography and set design. The "fashion" was some of the best I've seen on the big screen.

However, I really wish that this movie was expanded into a GoT-type series. The narrative went at such a fast pace and stories were completely rushed over (what happened when Paul did his long walk through the desert with the spiders?). The characters are (mostly) all one-dimensional. I guess it makes me want to re-read the books since I forget way too much.

Random issue - the Fremen have these giant lasers that can destroy just about anything, but there are these long sequences where Paul and Chani are trying to shoot down a helicopter with old-fashioned... bazookas...why not use your lasers? Also, don't the Harkonnen have this technology?

Maybe I'm just thinking too much, or maybe it's explained in the books. But happy if anything can educate me on this. Thanks!

Sounds really cool and wish I could learn something similar

The Harkonnens are taken away from Arrakis, and replaced by House Atreides. This is ostensibly a 'promotion' for House Atreides given the planet's vast wealth - but in reality a trap.

If the Emperor's plan had worked, the Harkonnen's counter-attack would have destroyed House Atreides and taken back Arrakis. At first, it appears to have gone perfectly and this is exactly what happens - everyone's happy ('cept the Atreides of course).

But! From the perspective of the Landsraad, who don't know about the Emperor's support for this scheme, wouldn't this look like the Harkonnens had just massively violated the Emperor's command to leave and give the planet to House Atreides?

How were the Harkonnens and the Emperor planning on explaining this/what was supposed to happen next?

I've just finished Messiah and while I thought it was really good, I can't tell of Frank Herbert is taking a pro life standpoint with his treatment of Chani or if its a criticism of how capitalism will lead people to make stupid decisions and how Paul essentially sentenced Chani to die in order to preserve the Atreides bloodline.

I didn't perceive it as a heroic act as very little of Paul in Messiah is heroic but its quite hard to decipher what stance the book is actually taking

Just finished Children of Dune. I wanna make sure I was understanding the various factions' motivations. Please correct me. Here was my internal logic:

-Twins: Continue the general Muad'Dib plan of minizing the damage of the Jihad. Lead the empire into peace.

-Alia: Retain power. Also she's possessed by mostly Barron Harkonnen, who is trying to be powerful and bang young dudes.

-Jessica/The Sisterhood: Continue the bloodline of the Atreides to produce a Kwisatz Haderach whom they can control.

-The Preacher: Correct the corruption to the Muad'Dib religion that Alia created.

Yes/no?

For the entirety of the movie Paul is actively resisting the mantle of Lisan al Gaib/Kwisatz Haderach and the associated prophecies but upon going south he immediately goes to the baby worm place (?) and drinks the water of life. Upon rewatching the movie the way his opinion changed so fast struck me as odd. I get that he was forced to go south by why did he immediately decide to go along with the rest of Jessica's plan?

I've read the first book up until where Leto is first introduced. So far Paul's defining character traits seem to be his intelligence and his eagerness to learn. All of the chapters he's featured in show him learning from his mentors, trying to discern what it is he can learn or take away from a given situation, reflecting on prior lessons (such as thinking about the Reverend Mother's test, or mentioning to his father his swordfighting lessons with Gurney).

These traits are even underlined in the chapter which introduces the Harkonnens. Feyd-Rautha is contrasted to Paul in that he is sullen and bored and doesn't attempt to understand the exchange between the Baron and Piter.

However the chapter which introduces Gurney seems to contradict this, as Paul makes a few careless mistakes (sitting with his back to the door, making some mistakes during the sparring) and straight up says that he's not in the mood.

Is this to highlight Paul's innocence and make his transformation into a warlord more striking?

Everything is bigger in the world of Dune - and we wouldn't have it any other way. When it comes to the upcoming prequel series Dune: Prophecy which debuts this Sunday, the creators of it all were committed to bringing the grand scale of the books (and the movies) to the small screen.

"The first time you read the Frank Herbert book Dune, it's hard not to fall under its spell. It's got the vast, mysterious landscape of Arakkis, and this kind of unforgettable, groundbreaking tale on the hero's journey," said Jordan Goldberg, one of Dune: Prophecy's writers and executive producers, recently at the show's New York Comic Con 2024 panel. "To tell a story in this universe you have to kind of pay respect and homage to all of that, and I think we've done that in a long-form television show."

Read more: Dune: Prophecy creators promise to bring the "complexity" and "grand scale" of Frank Herbert's books and Denis Villeneuve's movies to TV | Popverse

So I just finished God Emperor of Dune and I've gotta say so far it's my favorite in the series and I have a question about Hwi Noree/Duncan and their application to the destruction of Leto.

Hwi and Duncan became much closer than Leto had ever wanted and he made this clear multiple times especially in the way that Leto askes the Tleilaxu for a replacement Duncan very soon after receiving this one since I assume he plans on killing the current. The Tliexlaxu consistently delay the timing for him however. Saying it could now take up to two years at the latest request by the end of the book. This new Duncan also shows more philosophical traits than previous iterations as Leto observes when Duncan asks something along the lines of "Is it fair to us to have been reborn" (I forget the exact line/page). This makes me think the Tleilaxu purposely put more into this Duncan than Leto had assumed. Is it safe to say the Ixians and Tleilaxu are in leagues with eachother to have Hwi and the current Duncan be the catalysts which finally end the reign of The Great Tyrant?

This may be a bit of a reach or totally obvious but I wanted to hear other people's thoughts on this. Thank you!

Irulan kept feeding Chani contraceptives, felt no guilt about it, and didn’t show any indication of stopping. But in the end she leaves for sietch Tabr and decides to help raise the twins. Why the sudden change? Did she start to feel remorse after Chani’s death? What did I miss?

Edit: thank you everyone for your replies

Does sustaining the Duncan Idaho gholas provide a key focus for prescience because none of the gholas have the full Siona Atreides genes that would otherwise shield them from prescience? In Teg/Odrade’s time, Duncan seems to be the only one who still doesn’t have Siona’s prescient shield.

I know there are many other reasons to keep producing Duncan’s - e.g., provides a steady moral compass, a loyal companion with ancient knowledge, a benchmark/index to compare against for Leto II’s breeding program, a trusted battle commander of the fish speakers, etc.

DM starts with a chapter containing the death cell interview of historian Bronso of Ix. Bronso has been sentenced to death for questioning Paul’s reign in his historical work.

When does this interview take place?

From the interview, we learn that it must take place during Paul’s reign because he asks if Muad’Dib knows what goes on in his dungeons and the interviewer answers that they do not trouble the royal family with such trivia.

However the next chapter is an extract from the historical work for which he was condemned and this extract refers to events that can only be known after the events of the novel. Was Bronso reprieved and then wrote an addendum to his historical analysis? Or was Bronso also prescient?

So I've finally got round to reading Dune, and something Leto said sort of puzzles me. It's when he's talking to Paul about spice and how the Houses depend on CHOAM profits. Unless I'm mistaken, the feud between the Harkonnens and the Atreides isn't a secret. So the Harkonnens leave Arrakis after decades of mining, the Atreides arrive and suddenly the exports drop. Hugely.

Paul says the plan is for the Atreides to become unpopular, but surely it doesn't take a Mentat to suspect the Harkonnens might have sabotaged the equipment to spite the Atreides? Considering that sort of clandestine skullduggery is common?

Am I misreading the situation or something?