The first film in Deni Villneuve’s 2 part adaptation of Dune has finally arrived in
most markets with much acclaim from both critics and audiences alike.
While the film’s reception has been mostly positive from Dune fans who have praised Villneuve’s
faithfulness to the source material, there are still many who had hoped for more development
of certain characters as well as the establishment of certain key elements upon which this universe
is founded.
One of these elements that many fans wanted to see more of were the Mentat capabilities
of both Thufir Hawat and Piter De Vries which would emphasize why they are so valuable to
the Great Houses they serve.
Thufir Hawat is noted as one of the finest Mentats in the Imperium feared by the Emperor
himself and Stephen Mckinley Henderson in my opinion did a fantastic job portraying
this character.
I certainly would’ve loved to have seen more from him in the film.
With a runtime of just over 2.5 hrs it’s becoming apparent that a fair amount of footage
had to be trimmed in order to fit within a more digestible length and format for general
audiences.
In this video I’d like to discuss some points from a recent interview with Stephen Mckinley
Henderson where he talks about a pivotal scene for his character and one that was ultimately
cut from the finished film.
Spoiler warning for those of you that haven’t seen the film yet.
Henderson recently spoke with The Hollywood Reporter where he revealed the process of
his casting and his preparation for the film.
During the interview he was asked how he felt about Thufir Hawat’s decision to tender
his resignation after the failed hunter seeker assissination attempt on the young Paul Atreides'.
He said quote
That’s exactly the thing.
That’s something that never would’ve happened to him at a different point in his journey,
and that was the other thing that made me realize he had served the grandfather.
He had served Duke Leto’s [Oscar Isaac] father.
So he’s been around a minute, and he was probably better at his job when he was less
emotional about it, when he was less human, and when he wasn’t as attached to them as
he was.
So his negligence endangered Paul.
I don’t know whether it’s still in the film or not, but in the script that we had,
Paul said to him, “It was also what you taught me that made me triumphant over that
hunter-seeker.”
So that’s the only thing that helped him get off the hook, but that resignation was
a sincere desire to say, “Get someone else because I care that much.”
- Stephen McKinley Henderson
It’s really nice to hear the actor’s insights into his character and I did feel that the
council meeting immediately after the hunter seeker incident was a little short.
I am curious to understand why such a small but significant line of dialogue was cut from
the finished product.
And I’m not sure why Villneuve chose to not to highlight Paul’s mentat training
and Hawat’s part in that.
Though it may seem the near assination of the Duke’s son was negligence on the Mentat’s
part he is still universally renowned for his skills but I did appreciate the deep feelings
the actor attributed to Thufir in regards to Paul and how protective he was as if he
was his own son.
Henderson noted this by saying quote: He’s a very likable guy, and so it was easy to
do the substitution there.
I also have a son, my only son, and he’s dear to me.
So I know I would rather have a professional.
Although I would lay down my life for my son, I would rather have somebody who would not
have to lay down their life, but somebody who would take care of whomever was trying
to harm him rather than die doing it.
So yes, I really felt that resignation and was shamed by the way that Duke handled it.
He knew that I was going to go back and do better, but the cards were stacked against
us completely because there was betrayal at the highest, highest order from the very beginning.
But we’re getting into Part Two now, and I can’t talk too much about that.
The cards are certainly stacked against House Atreides and while Dune Part 2 has been teased
by Warner Media, production on the sequel hasn’t been officially greenlit but from
Henderson’s comments it seems as if the Emperor will have a significant role in the
follow up film.
Faithful to the novel the Emperor’s involvement in the Atreides downfall is teased throughout
part one and though his influence is certainly felt he doesn’t come on to the scene until
later in the story.
Regarding the scenes that were trimmed, Hawat’s personal interaction with Paul in reference
to his valuable training is just one of a number of scenes which were apparently cut
from the theatrical version.
Jason Momoa who portrays the swordmaster Duncan Idaho has revealed his desire to see the 4
to 5 hour director’s cut of the film, wanting to get Villneuve’s entire vision for this
adaptation.
After seeing the film it’s even more clear that there were several moments featured in
trailer footage or set photos that either were presented differently in the film or
eliminated entirely.
Henderson briefly touched on Villneuve’s process in post production as well saying.
It was a wonderful script, but they shot and edited a story.
So there were a lot of things that they had to choose from, and Denis chose to make sure
that that was visible and in contrast to the other things.
So I’m just grateful because directors have to watch over a performance.
You can do a lot of things that never get seen in a film, you know?
And Denis loves acting and actors, so he makes sure that everyone gets their contribution.
He shines a light.
I find that Denis is very generous.
He’s going to tell the story, so he has to trim what he has to trim.
And you may lose something that you were in love with, but what he keeps is a way of compensating
you or apologizing.
(Laughs.)
So that’s what’s left of it, and it’s quite enough.
It’s like he turned a long poem into a haiku, and I’m just glad that you noted it.
Henderson clearly has a deep respect for the universe, his character and Deni Villneuve’s
process.
I appreciate his comments though I’m not sure I can agree that every character received
a valuable contribution to this film.
Having said that Dune is a deeply complex universe as Villneuve has stated before its
a story that takes its power in details.
So its certainly a monumental task to remain faithful to the spirit of Frank Herbert’s
work while also making it accessible and enjoyable for general audiences and in that respect
I’d say he succeeded.
Regardless I doubt the calls for the release of an extended director’s cut will die down
any time soon.
Deni Villneuve commented on the idea of a potential directors cut recently.
In an interview with La Presse the director stated that it’s true that if Joe Walker,
the editor and I had let go, we could have done a version of several hours because I
filmed a lot.
But the final version is really the one that ends up on the screen.
I have never done a director’s cut of any of my films.
So while it’s apparent there won’t be an extended version in the likes of the Lord
of the Rings trilogy I am hoping we can at the very least see the deleted scenes as part
of the extra footage that comes with the Blu-ray release of the film itself.
Many of these scenes I feel would add so much to the development of the characters of Frank
Herbert's carefully crafted epic and would help the audience to really understand the
weight and importance of each of these figures.
If you’d like to read the full interview with Stephen McKinley Henderson I’ll leave
a link in the description below.
I highly recommend it as it further dives into his preparation for the role.
Also for more information on the mentat order be sure to check out my lore video on the
subject where I dive a little deeper into these human computers.
But I'm curious to know what you think of Hendersons and Villeneuve's comments about
the extra footage that was left out of the film.
Would you be satisfied with seeing the deleted scenes or is a director's cut the only way
to go?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
I hope you enjoyed this video.
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news and lore.
Thank you all so much for your support and as always have a very nerdy day.