Dune's Creepiest Creature Almost Looked Even More Terrifying
Denis Villeneuve's "Dune" films are two of the most star-studded blockbusters of the last decade. "Dune: Part Two" blew everyone away at the box office, in part because of its stunning visuals and emotional sci-fi story, but also because of a massive cast that includes Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Javier Bardem, and Stellan Skarsgård. That's not even the full list, either. Still, Villeneuve's excellent sci-fi sequel leaves out the true star of the first film. Yes, that's right — we're talking about the creepy spider thing from Baron Harkonnen's evil lair.
When "Dune" premiered in 2021, it received widespread praise from both critics and fans of the books, but Vladimir Harkonnen's messed-up pet got a disproportionately large amount of attention. That may be in part because the giant spider — a man-sized creature with human hands at the ends of its long legs — is never mentioned in Frank Herbert's novel. It's also just because the thing is horrifying to look at. Those who covered their eyes at the sight of the spider may squirm to know that it almost had an even more disconcerting design — one that gave it a human face to match its slimy hands.
Concept art shared by special effects studio Wētā Workshop on ArtStation reveals two alternate designs for the spider creature. One features a bald human face that looks remarkably like one of the baron's Harkonnen lackeys. The other has a less humanoid, more insectoid face with bulging eyes and tiny arms. Both are sufficiently nightmarish.
What is the Harkonnen spider?
Because the Harkonnen spider creature doesn't appear in the "Dune" books, it's not entirely clear what it actually is. Some theorized after the film's release that it could have been Doctor Yueh's wife, who's said to be imprisoned and tortured by the Harkonnens. However, neither of these earlier designs with faces suggests that. What's more likely is that the creature is a creation of the Bene Tleilax — a secretive group in Herbert's universe known for genetic experimentation.
In the later novels, the Tleilaxu are responsible for cloning experiments that play heavily into the larger story. However, that isn't the extent of their dark scientific efforts. Given the Harkonnens' immense wealth and power in the universe, it's reasonable to assume they would have some business dealings with the Tleilaxu. Why the baron would want such a grotesque creature in the first place is another question entirely and, honestly, one that may be best left unanswered.
In the end, moviegoers were treated to a still-frightening but slightly less ghoulish version of the creature. While Villeneuve's films don't mention the Bene Tleilax by name, there are small details in "Dune: Part Two" that set up adaptations of Herbert's later stories. If those sequels end up happening, the Tleilaxu will play a larger role, and we could finally get some much-needed clarity on what exactly that terrifying monster is.