Will ‘Dune: Part Three’ Finally Make People Realize Paul Atreides Isn’t a Hero?

A lot of complaints about media literacy in today’s world all stem back to one simple fact: People don’t pay attention. A perfect example of this comes to us in the form of Dune. The Denis Villeneuve franchise is based on Frank Herbert’s science fiction series of the same name. Herbert’s books make it abduntantly clear that Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) is not a hero. The films, I’d argue, do the same. The problem then stems from people not picking up what Villeneuve is putting down.

Since the start of the series, Paul was being groomed to be something more for Arrakis. It never was meant to be a good thing. He’s not exactly the kind of leader you would want around. But still, people would watch Dune and root for him. That leads us to Dune: Part Three. The final trailer for Villeneuve’s epic conclusion made one thing very clear: Paul is not a hero.

Part of the issue with Dune has been everyone’s love for Chalamet. But that is, arguably, the point of casting someone like Chalamet in the role. You’re meant to want to see Paul in power only to quickly realize the dangers of a man like that having control. All of Dune is a cautionary tale and if it tricks you into rooting for Paul then that’s good on the quality of the story. The key is recognizing that you’re not supposed to root for him.

With each new Dune story that comes out, I feel less and less convinced that people actually do understand that part of Villeneuve’s films.

Paul Atreides shouldn’t be a leader

Frank Herbert’s original novels allowed its readers to be seduced by its leader. Paul’s success was rooted in people wanting him to win. The key is making sure that that same audience sees the downfall of a leader like Paul Atreides. The latest trailer for Dune: Part Three does seemingly show that darkness within Paul and it, hopefully, shows Villeneuve’s audience that the entire journey of Paul in Arrakis was not meant to be celebrated.

It is fun to cheer for Muad’Dib. That’s not something that is shocking. But it is going to be interesting to see how many people who originally wanted to root for Chalamet’s Lisan al-Gaid are going to quickly realize that he was not their hero. It does seem like Villeneuve always sought out to make that clear, it is just a matter of whether or not people are understanding of it heading into the third installment.

For now, I hope people take this trailer and begin to look differently at Paul. I think that his lack of heroism should have been apparent after Dune: Part Two but if you needed another example, this film is clearly going to give it to you. So until we see Dune: Part Three in theaters this December, know this: Paul Atreides was never a hero. Dune is a story of false prophets and the danger of a charismatic leader and Villeneuve’s films do an incredible job exploring that.

You can see the final trailer here:

Dune: Part Three is in theaters on December 18.