Besides his sister Alia being far more absent in “Dune: Part Two,” Paul Atreides’ son is also missing from Denis Villeneuve’s epic follow-up film. In Frank Herbert’s book, Paul and Jessica’s time among the Fremen spans years, whereas the film glosses over how much time has passed since “Dune: Part One.” During this period, his relationship with Chani becomes much more serious, which results in them having a baby boy they name Leto II. Tragedy strikes, though, when, in the final effort to bring down Paul and his rebellion, the Emperor attacks a seitch, killing the infant before the final battle that sees Shaddam dethroned.
As far as losses go, the “Dune: Part Two” body count isn’t as big or impactful as the previous film’s, where we saw the deaths of Duke Leto and Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa), but both tragedies would pale in comparison to what would have happened if Villeneuve kept the death of Paul and Chani’s young son in the mix. Thankfully, there are enough power struggles at play to keep the tension high leading into the film’s third act without killing children.
But even here, Villeneuve switches things up again. Besides Fremen taking ships off-world to continue their leader’s mission, we get a glimpse at the love triangle that is formed and then fractured in a way that might surprise fans of Herbert’s original story. It could make for an exciting bit of friction if and when the anticipated third film is made.
