While Dune: Part Two was released in cinemas on February 28, 2024, where does this film fit in the chronology of the literary series? What book should you read while you wait? Dune 3 ?
The last two films by Denis Villeneuve are adaptations: Dune 1 And Dune 2 come from the literary work of Franck Herbert, whose first volume was published in 1965. If you have just left the cinema after the sublime Dune: Part Two, you probably have the feeling that the odyssey is not yet coming to an end. Indeed, far from it: the literary saga lasts over several volumes.
The Messiah of Dune
The adaptation by Denis Villeneuve makes a particular choice: the two films, from 2021 and 2024, are taken from one and the same book, Dune. The thick work (more than 600 pages) was cut in two. The direct sequel to Dune 2 is therefore… volume 2 of the literary saga, that is to say The Messiah of Dune.
The events of the second film lead directly to this second volume. In The Messiah of Duneyou will begin to witness the famous “holy war” mentioned at the end of the film — and you will also meet Alia, Paul’s sister and daughter of Lady Jessica.
Be careful though, like any adaptation, Dune: Part Two does not fully follow the flow of everything that happens in the book. For example, in Villeneuve’s film, we do not see the birth of Alia. Even if the two feature films still represent 5 hours in total, they do not cover all of what happens in volume 1 of Dune (and also make some narrative variations). It may therefore be preferable, after this cinematographic version, to start the literary saga from scratch.
But this is not an obligation. Fortunately, The Messiah of Dune is designed in such a way that we have the sensation of entering a new story. It’s like looking at another historical era in the great history of Dune. A fictitious “historian”, Broson d’Ix, also provides a form of summary at the start of volume 2. It is therefore technically possible to read directly The Messiah of Dune just after Villeneuve’s films.
In total, the saga Dune contains six volumes:
- T1: Dune
- T2: The Messiah of Dune
- T3: Children of Dune
- T4: The God-Emperor of Dune
- T5: The Heretics of Dune
- T6: The mothers’ house
They all exist in pocket at Pocket.
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