Here’s Dune 2‘s ending explained featuring spoilers. Learn what happened to Paul Atreides, Chani, House Harkonnen, and Emperor Shaddam IV. Did Paul take his revenge? Here’s all you need to know.
What happened at the end of Dune 2?
Dune: Part Two ended with Paul defeating Feyd-Rautha in a duel and claiming Emperor Shaddam IV’s throne by marrying his daughter.
In the massive third act of Dune 2, Paul is accepted as the Lisan al Gaib by the Fremen. His acts as Muad’dib had already earned him a great reputation. So when he called the Emperor to Arrakis, the latter took the bait.
As the Emperor is about to punish the Harkonnens for failing to capture or even find information about Muad’dib, the latter leads the Fremen on an all-out assault on the Emperor and the Harkonnens. He attacks them with the Atreides family atomics and invades the capital city, Arrakeen on sandworms.
The Fremen’s faith in their Messiah allows them to take the Harkonnens and Imperial Sardaukar forces down. Gurney Halleck gets his rematch with Glossu Rabban and kills him for what he did to House Atreides. Meanwhile, Paul Muad’dib Atreides makes it to the grand hall and kills his grandfather, Vladimir Harkonnen, to avenge his father (Yes, Paul is part Harkonnen as his mother, lady Jessica, was revealed to be the daughter of Vladimir Harkonnen).
Following that, Paul makes a move on Emperor Shaddam IV for his hand in killing Duke Leto. As he calls out for a duel, Feyd-Rautha agrees to fight in place of the emperor. While he was inches away from defeating Paul, the latter managed to stab him and win. He announced that he’d take the throne by marrying Shaddam IV’s daughter, Princess Irulan Corrino.
Upon Irulan’s request, Paul doesn’t kill Shaddam IV and asks him to kneel and accept him as the new Emperor, which Shaddam IV does. But in a major departure from the book, Chani doesn’t accept this arrangement and leaves the hall. As the other great houses become unwilling to accept Paul’s ascendency, Emperor Paul turns his attention to them.
He fulfills his promise to the Fremen by leading them to paradise. In return, they are ready to follow Lisan al Gaib everywhere, even in the “Holy War” against other great houses. The final shot of the film shows Chani ready to set off on a sandworm, not following Lisan al Gaib as her people do.
Who dies in Dune Part 2?
Among the major deaths, Dune Part 2 showcases the demise of all three Harkonnen leaders, Vladimir, Rabban, and Feyd-Rautha.
There are no coups against the Atreides this time. Instead, Paul manages to take revenge for everyone in his house. As mentioned above, he kills Vladimir and Feyd-Rautha while Gurney Halleck kills Rabban. Earlier in the film, Reverend Mother Ramallo died while passing on her mantle to Lady Jessica. Furthermore, Chani’s friend Shishakli also dies fighting against the Harkonnens.
How Dune: Part Two sets up Dune 3?
Dune: Part Two’s end sets Paul Atreides on a journey to become the most powerful man in the universe by controlling the spice harvest and conquering all great houses across the universe.
With the Fremen and Sardaukar forces by his side, his holy war against the houses will likely end up in his favor. So, Dune 3, which will be based on “Dune Messiah,” could start 12 years after Paul’s ascendency to becoming the emperor. It could showcase his reign as the most powerful ruler of all time.
But since Part Two altered the first book’s events in Chani’s case, she will likely not be Paul’s concubine while he stays married to Empress Irulan. It’ll be interesting to see if Chani will fight to take him down instead.
For more updates, find out whether Dune 2 could be a box office success. Also, learn about Pavani in Code 8: Part II.
