At 2 hours 35 minutes and 2 hours 46 minutes for the first two opuses, respectively, Denis Villeneuve’sDunesaga is not comprised of short movies. The source material ofDuneis prolific, at the very least. As proven empirically with series such asHarry Potter,The Maze Runner, or evenTwilight, it is always hard to faithfully make a book into a movie. Directors must choose what to focus on and what to let go of. One such choice is toremove secondary characters, who could distract from the main plot, or add scenes that unnecessarily extend the runtime in the era of three-hour-long epics.
Sometimes, that is also true in between sequels. One particular character appeared inDune: Part Onebut did not return inDune: Part Two, which truly saddened director Denis Villeneuve.It was Thufir Hawat, a trusted protector of the House Atreides, portrayed by Stephen McKinley Henderson. Although some undisclosed scenes had been shot with him, for both the latter half ofPart OneandPart Two, director Denis Villeneuve eventually chose to cut them. Here is everything to know about this character and his run in Villeneuve’sDune.
Dune: Part Two
Who Is Thufir Hawat in the Dune Franchise?
Thufir Hawat starts his story inDuneas a Mentat and Master of Assassins for House Atreides. Being a Mentat means he was trained from the youngest age to work like a human computer and solve problems for its people. Most importantly,he was tasked with protecting House Atreides from military attacks, espionage, and more. Additionally, this particular Mentat was entrusted withraising the young Paulin both combat and military problem-solving, hence being an important part of his early life, if almost a friend.
Regarding his appearances inDunemedia, Thufir Hawat was, of course, part of the original novel, earning an original drawing. He then appeared in several graphic novel versions, adopting various appearances. He was included in David Lynch’s 1984 movie version as a stylized older man with a lot of facial hair, played by Freddie Jones, where his storyline was carried all the way through to his spectacular death. He was then taken on by Czech actor Jan Vlasák in theoften-forgotten 2000 miniseries, where he disappeared after the Siege of Arrakeen. And finally, he appeared inDune: Part 1, by Denis Villeneuve, boasting a specific, square bottom lip tattoo.
Why Villeneuve Cut Thufir Hawat From Dune: Part Two
Of course, with a book as dense asDune, certain changes needed to be made. In this case, 896 pages needed to be translated to the screen, leading to necessary cuts in dialogues, subplots, and even characters themselves. Regarding Thufir Hawat, the Canadian director toldScreen Crush:
“I was in love with Thufir Hawat. It’s a character that I absolutely adore. But I had to make the bold choice to make a Bene Gesserit adaptation, and to focus the movie on that sisterhood. I wish there was more Thufir Hawat. That’s what I would say.”
One understands that the director had to make the painful decision to cut out a less central character for the benefit of others. Thufir Hawat could have continued on the path that he took in the book and suffered a heroic death; however,these events might have detracted from the main story or the Bene Gesserit plotline, which was more important in Villeneuve’sDune: Part Two.
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It can also be understood that considering Thufir Hawat’s basic role, his mission was over after the first film.He trained Paul for his military duties, and since Paul then went on to create his army in the second film, he no longer needed his home secured (or that shown on screen). After the Siege of Arrakeen, Paul fights on his own,no longer needing Thufir Hawat. In this case, however unfortunate his cutting was, it made sense not to further include Thufir Hawat to the profit of other characters' screen time.
On the other hand, it is a bit strange not to see that character return. Indeed,in the original book, this Mentat must work for the Harkonnen after the Siege of Harrakeen. It seems like a rather central part of the story that a superhuman trained to solve logical issues (potentially such as war strategy) is taken hostage to work for the other side. It is especially strange that he does not return for at least one scene, as the Atreides warrior does return in the gladiator-type arena, and his presence is not contrasted with the corruption in the Harkonnen embodied by the captivity of Thufir Hawat.
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Although he was a charismatic and potentially important character intheDunesaga,Thufir Hawat’s presence might have been too distracting and hard to include within the other storylines explored in this movieadaptation of the book. In addition, his basic role in the Messiah’s life had already been fulfilled, thus no longer needing him.
Although he suffers a dramatic and heroic death in the book as well as earlier on-screen versions of the source material, it did not make much sense to include them inDune: Part Two. All things considered, it can still be nice for fans to know that this deletion was not easy for the director, who seemingly loved the character.Dune: Part Twois streaming onMax.
