Why Dune 2 Cut One Of The Book's Most Important Characters: Leto Atreides II
The first Dune novel by Frank Herbert is a tome of a text. Even dividing the book into two feature-length movies means there are still details that need to be scrapped, and "Dune: Part Two" left one character on the cutting room floor. One of the things "Dune: Part Two" gets wrong from the book is the exclusion of the first child between Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and Chani (Zendaya) — Leto Atreides II.
"Dune: Part Two" co-writer Jon Spaihts spoke with Inverse about foregoing Leto II, pointing out how the child is killed rather quickly, with the readers never really getting a chance to meet him. "[Paul] has grief about [Leto II's death], but has little time for that grief because [he's] in the middle of conducting a war," he stated. With the movie already close to the three-hour mark, giving Paul and Chani a child may have been too much. Spaihts continued, "The arrival and departure of that off-stage baby barely ruffles the waters of the novel itself, and really would've been a peculiar distraction in the film."
Paul could still have an heir in a future installment of the film series. The ending of "Dune: Part Two" sees him betray Chani to enhance his political power by marrying Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh). Chani runs away from Paul, even though she's supposed to bear twins for him later — another Leto II (who becomes the God-Emperor) and Ghanima. The first Leto II may no longer be in the cards for the movies, but those other two remain intriguing possibilities.
Paul and Chani's relationship had plenty of drama to make up for no Leto II
This isn't the first time the elder Leto Atreides II has been left out of a cinematic adaptation. He is also notably absent in David Lynch's 1984 "Dune" movie, but that makes a bit more sense because the director tried adapting the entire story into just one film. However, Jon Spaihts' explanation is also logical since giving Paul and Chani a child in "Dune: Part Two" may have added more unnecessary plot details to an already expansive narrative — even if going through a child's death together would've made Paul's eventual betrayal all the more heartbreaking.
Spaihts pointed out that the film already has a strong emotional crux with Paul and Chani's relationship. "The story of young love crossed with a terrific political and philosophical collision between the two of them and between the pressures the world puts on those two young lovers ... I think that's the most important thing in this story," he elaborated. Simplifying what's already a heady science-fiction story is arguably for the best, especially for viewers unfamiliar with the books.
Leaving out Leto II is far from the only change "Dune: Part Two" makes. One of the biggest changes the movie makes to the Atreides family tree is that Alia (Anya Taylor-Joy), Paul's sister, remains unborn. "Dune: Part Two" is critically acclaimed, so it doesn't appear the alterations impacted the story's quality. But it's intriguing to see how they may necessitate even more changes to an adaptation of the next book in the series — "Dune Messiah."