this post was submitted on 17 Mar 2026
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Because life isn't only happiness? I want to see this movie to have the same tone as Messiah, I think society at large is due some injection of "beware of personality cults" reminders right now.
Also, the "downer" Empire Strikes Back is still considered by many to be the best of the original Star Wars trilogy, despite getting panned for being too much of a downer right around the Christmas season when that came out too. I remember one reviewer saying something to the tune of "like receiving a Christmas card from your bank" or something to describe the disappointment they felt with the entry when it came out.
People already have a lesson from following personality cults in Adolf Hitler. No, life isn't all happiness. That's the reason movies should be an escape from unhappiness. Through Paul and Chani viewers can feel romantic love, a love which they perhaps do not have in real life.
But viewers knew that there would be a sequel to The Empire Strikes Back and the sequel, Return of the Jedi did have a happy ending. However, Dune Part 3 is the last of the trilogy. Note that the final Spider-Man trilogy, Spider-Man: No Way Home was sad. Why this love of dark endings?
Given that the majority of movies has a happy ending (which can often fell forced as a result of sticking to a formula) I personally feel that breaking with that tradition (outside of genres that often go for downer endings line horror) is refreshing and can make a movie a lot more memorable.
To each their own, of course, but I'll be happy if the movie sticks closer to the books. There's a powerful lesson and symbolism in there that I hope stays preserved on the big screen.
I read that Frank Herbert wrote Messiah to counter the impression that Paul was a hero. He wanted to show what happens when people fanatically follow someone. But there is already an example in Adolf Hitler. Messiah was not as popular as Dune perhaps because it's dark. The purpose of a movie is to make money, not to strictly follow a book. Most of the audience for Dune Part 3 will have never read Dune or Messiah. We will have to see how well Dune Part 3 performs against other 2026 movies. It will have a lot of competition, Avengers: Doomsday, Odyssey, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day to name a few.
I don't personally care about any of the films mentioned, but I guess that's to each their own.
You keep bringing up Adolf Hitler as an example by the way, but when Frank wrote this book, Hitler had already died decades ago and his personality cult was dismantled. Frank still deemed it necessary to warn folks about the dangers of personality cults though, and given by the fact that there have been many more since I don't think that message can ever be said too loudly or clearly.
Quite true but I prefer that the story be about the romance between Paul, a person who doesn't want to be a leader but has to in order to avenge his family and free the Fremen and Chani, the girl of his dreams who initially doesn't like him but begins to love him when she sees his courage. Instead of Paul becoming evil, the story should revolve around Paul and his love for Chani. The end of the story should be Arrakis belonging to the Fremen and the rains returning. The rains could have stopped because invaders changed the weather in order to mine the spice.