Dune: Part Two starts on November 2, 2023 in German cinemas. The massive new Dune trailer has already caused goosebumps, not only for sci-fi fans. But what can quickly get lost in the visual and musical dance of the latest insight is that we are here for the first time biggest opponents being performed by Timothée Chalamets Paul Atreides: Christopher Walken as Emperor Shaddam the Fourth.
Christopher Walken in Dune 2: Who is the Emperor in the Sci-Fi Universe?
Shaddam IV, of the House of Corrino, is the Emperor in the sci-fi world of Frank Herbert’s Dune during the times of Paul Atreides. That is, he reigns as emperor and supreme ruler of the entire known universe. As a galactic feudal lord, he can issue orders to other houses, such as the Atreides and Harkonnen. At his behest, the Atreides family relocated from their green water home planet of Caladan to the desert planet of Dune in Part 1 to oversee Spice production there as rulers.
In the new Dune trailer, Shaddam IV is shown on its green home planet in stark contrast to the red and yellow desert ambience (minute 1:30). He has no sons, but instead has one Daughter: Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), who also rises to become a major new protagonist in Dune 2.
Why is Emperor Shaddam IV so dangerous in Dune 2?
In Denis Villeneuve’s first Dune film (currently on Amazon Prime*), the hulking Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) was the ultimate threat to House Atreides. At the end of Part 1 he seized power over the desert planet again, which led to the death of Paul’s father Leto (Oscar Isaac). The first nephew of the baron, the “beast” Glossu Rabban (Dave Bautista), is joined in part 2 by the combative Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler). Yet the bald Harkonnen fade as a threat, though the real string puller Enter: Emperor Shaddam IV.
As it turned out at the end of Part 1, the Emperor played the wrong game: He purposely sent the House Atreides to their downfall on Dune. The reason: because the family, which is valued in many places in the universe, became too influential for him. To eliminate the perceived threat to his own throne, he wanted to obliterate them under the guise of the Harkonnen attack. But the deployment of the Imperial elite fighters (Sardaukar) alongside the Harkonnen army laid bare this deception to the few surviving witnesses.
Warner Bros.
The Emperor’s Sardaukar Fighters in Dune
To illustrate the villain power differential with a Star Wars comparison (which, as a franchise, borrowed a lot from Dune anyway), if the Harkonnen henchmen are anything like the evil face of the Empire aka Darth Vader, then Shaddam is Emperor Palpatine.
The fact that Shaddam IV in Dune 2 is not only a powerful opponent, but also a psychologically clever one, is already evident in the trailer, where he accuses Paul of his father being Leto “a weak man” been. You can find out for yourself in November 2023 who wins this power struggle on Dune.
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