Inti Navia 
“Dune: Part Two” is on its way. From Florence Pugh to Zendaya, it seems like a promising sequel. But watch out, because it’s not the only awesome “Dune” sequel.
When the first “Dune” movie came out in 2021, I remember walking to the bookstore, wanting to read the book before I saw it in theaters. To my surprise, Frank Herbert’s story, which was published in 1965, was nearly sold out!
It’s safe to say that these sci-fi novels are still relevant today, so why not talk about the infamous sequel to the novel Dune?
Dune: Messiah takes away all the victory and happiness from the first book. It follows the main character of book one, Paul Atreides, and his sister, Alia, years in the future. The tone, however, is a whole lot darker. Filled with mystery and political intrigue, different factions conspire against Paul at every corner. This may be a shock to some, but those paying attention won’t be surprised.
The first book and movie established Paul as the Muad’dib, the prophesied “savior” of the desert people on the planet Arrakis. Throughout the books and movies, Paul, the outsider, works to cement himself amongst the people, or Fremen, and establish himself as their spiritual leader. On the surface, he’s shown as the hero, avoiding assassination attempts by the Harkonnens and leading a war to take back Arrakis.
Without spoilers, Dune: Messiah is worth a read. While maybe not as action-heavy as the first book, that doesn’t mean it’s not filled to the top with drama. From secret affairs, to resurrected characters, this 50 year old book holds up to this day. It confronts the trope of the white savior, and makes it the main focus of the novel. Oh, and the giant worms are still super, super cool.
As reported by Nerdist, the director, Denis Villeneuve, said, “The thing I envision, the adaptation of two books, Dune and Dune Messiah. We decided to split the first novel in two, so now we are at three movies.”
After “Dune: Part Two,” it looks like the movie for Dune: Messiah is happening. After that, who knows? Maybe more of the six original Dune novels will be made into movies. I would say to definitely keep a look out for God Emperor of Dune, which is the fourth book in the series.
Have you read Dune: Messiah? Did you like it? Let me know what you think!
By Inti Navia, Senior, ChiArts
All Platforms: @intinavia
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