Zendaya’s character Chani is significantly different in Dune 2 when compared to the books and Denis Villeneuve explained why.

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune 2 is well on its way to becoming one of the most successful blockbusters in Hollywood. A brilliant sequel to its impressive predecessor, the film was bigger, more visually spectacular, and more emotionally intense that the first part, which is credit to Villeneuve’s prowess  and skill as a filmmaker.
Hollywood director Denis Villeneuve (image credit: Wikimedia Commons)
While the director stayed true to the novels by Frank Herbert when it came to characters and events, he made a key change to Zendaya’s Chani that was significantly different from how she was represented in the book. The Blade 2049 filmmaker explained his reasons that actually stemmed from Herbert’s own thoughts.

Denis Villeneuve On Why He Changed Zendaya’s Character Arc In Dune 2

Zendaya’s Chani who was more of a background presence in Dune, became one of the pivotal characters in Denis Villeneuve’s blockbuster sequel. While her relationship to the central protagonist Paul Atreides is the glue that holds the narrative together, Villeneuve took the creative liberty of changing up her arc in the second film.
Zendaya in Dune 2
In Frank Herbert’s Dune, Chani is seen as someone who expresses her undying loyalty to Paul Atreides and even accepts him as the Lisan-Al-Gaib. But this is not the case in Dune 2 where she is one of the few characters who refuses to believe this fact, and is extremely suspicious and sceptical about Atreides’ legacy.

The Sicario filmmaker explained why he needed to make this change and revealed that it was actually Herbert’s own thoughts that inspired him to tweak the script in this manner. In an interview with Screen Rant Plus, Villeneuve elaborated further on the author’s opinions and said,

”When the book came out, he was disappointed about how people perceived Paul Atreides. People were talking about him as a hero, but for him, he was an anti-hero. He was a dark figure. So he wrote Dune Messiah for people to understand the intention. So I wrote part two having that in mind. That is why Chani’s character is slightly different in my adaptation than in the book.  It helped me bring the initial intention of Frank Herbert to the screen.”

The ending of Dune 2 which sees an enraged Chani moving away from Paul Atreides, is the perfect segue into the next narrative which is expected to see a lot of threads being tied up with regard to their relationship.

Denis Villeneuve Was Destined To Make Dune

Sometimes, life grants people the opportunity to make their childhood dreams come true. Denis Villeneuve is one of the lucky ones who has fulfilled a long-standing desire. The Canadian director created waves by adapting Dune, Frank Herbert’s complex novel of politics, ecology, and philosophy in a sci-fi world.
Denis Villeneuve on the sets of Dune
He followed it up with an inspiring sequel in 2024 which has already broken a ton of records at the box office, and is in the running to be one of the most successful Hollywood films ever made. For the filmmaker, these films were a dream that he manifested since his childhood.

Villeneuve who was a teenager when he first read the books, was completely enamored by the world that Herbert had created. The director revealed how he desperately wished that he would be able to visually capture the glory of this narrative on screen. Speaking to Wired, Villeneuve said,

“I read it when I was 13 or 14 years old. The first Dune book is a tremendous, powerful adventure of a young boy discovering a new world. It stayed with me through the years, haunted me. So, when people were saying, ‘Well, what would be your biggest dream?’ I would say, Dune.”

Villeneuve expressed his gratitude for having been given this opportunity to visualize his favorite story of all time. With Dune 2 already staking its claim to end the year as one of the biggest blockbusters, fans of the franchise will be eager to see how the 3rd installment will pan out.

Dune can be streamed in Hulu.

Dune 2 is currently running in theaters.