DUNE Current revisions by Jon Spaihts Previous drafts by Eric Roth Denis Villeneuve September 24, 2018 The desert has no mercy. You adapt or you die. - Liet Kynes FADE IN: BENE GESSERIT TEMPLE WALL 1 1 We pan across an intricate mosaic in an ancient sanctuary. Graceful arabesque calligraphy flows across the surface. A woman’s voice speaks: aged and wise. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (V.O.) Once, we let machines think for us -- and those machines enslaved us. Bringing an age of tyranny and war. The mosaic’s design acquires a MECHANISTIC character, looming darkly over stylized human figures. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (V.O.) When at last we threw them down, a new law was made: “Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind.” The towering mechanistic shapes dwindle to rubble, leaving a golden space in which human shapes re-emerge. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (V.O.) Schools were founded to elevate human thought. The Mentats, masters of mathematics and logic. The Spacing Guild, whose Navigators see into the future to leap between the stars. And the Bene Gesserit, whose supreme knowledge of the body and mind guides human affairs. We see the Mentats with haloes of pure mathematics. The Guild Navigators with great ships looming overhead. The Bene Gesserit in black-robed ranks of women led by matriarchs. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (V.O.) All three rely on the spice : a narcotic that enhances psychic gifts in those who possess them. Without it, our civilization would collapse. Rays of orange emerge in the mosaic, transforming the people they touch. Elevating Mentats, Navigators, Bene Gesserit. We follow the rays back to a golden sphere: a desert planet. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (V.O.) The spice has only one source: the desert planet we call Arrakis. Known to its inhabitants as Dune. 1. EXT. ARRAKIS ORBIT 2 2 Arrakis looms against the stars: a desert world. At the equator, a vast rust-colored hurricane slowly churns. A STEALTH SHIP rockets toward the surface of the planet: a sleek two-seater with a darkened hull and no markings. A PILOT sits in the forward seat, face hidden by a black glass visor. In the rear sits a COMMANDO, in a high-tech cradle that is not quite a seat: a DROP CHUTE. UPPER ATMOSPHERE The ship plunges into the air: vapor screaming over the hull. Friction heats the shuddering fuselage to a red glow. From afar we see the ship blazing down like a falling star. Below, a sea of sand dunes meets a rocky ridge. The ship plunges toward the desert. Terrifyingly fast. At the last moment the pilot pulls up, crushing the commando with G-forces. Skimming over the dunes a hundred meters up. Ahead: the rocky ridge rushes to meet them. The pilot flashes the commando a series of hand signals. The commando replies by thumping the canopy with his fist. Ready. The pilot pulls up hard, aiming for the stratosphere -- and as the ship climbs away, the drop chute opens. The commando falls free. No parachute. A dark figure in free-fall. ON THE COMMANDO As he touches his belt, activating a SUSPENSOR HARNESS. A hum of power as the suspensors fight the force of gravity. EXT. ARRAKIS - ROCK RIDGE - DAY 3 3 The commando falls into view, decelerating fast. Lands on his feet, taking the shock with his legs. Pulls off his helmet. He is broad-shouldered and lean. Clean-shaven. Late thirties. He radiates quiet competence, even in this hellish place. He is DUNCAN IDAHO. He strips the pack off his back. Takes out a rapier and dagger in scabbards and hangs them on his belt. He scans the ridge, squinting in the sun. Pulls a flask from his belt and takes a swallow of water. Climbs out of sight. Behind him, the dune sea rolls to the horizon. TITLE: DUNE 2. INT. CASTLE CALADAN - MEDITATION ROOM - NIGHT 4 4 In a wide room of zen simplicity, LADY JESSICA, 35, sits in meditation. She is regal, slender, robed in black. Her posture perfect. Her eyes closed. She is emotional. Striving to calm her heart, to slow her breathing. Eyes darting beneath her eyelids. EXT. SPACE - CALADAN ORBIT 5 5 Abstract shapes move in silence against the stars. A GUILD HEIGHLINER, a huge torpedo-shaped starship, maneuvers over CALADAN, a blue-green planet like Earth. SUPER: CALADAN - HOMEWORLD OF HOUSE ATREIDES A minuscule egg-shaped SHUTTLE emerges from the Heighliner like a seed and falls toward the planet. INT. CASTLE CALADAN - MEDITATION ROOM - NIGHT 6 6 Jessica finds stillness. Her heartbeat slows. Her breathing slows...and stops. For a moment it seems time itself stops, with a crackle like ice. As if she has turned to stone. THUNDER RUMBLES overhead. Jessica’s eyes open. EXT. CASTLE CALADAN - NIGHT 7 7 Rain falls on an ancient castle on a cliff. Stormclouds shroud the moon. Below, a river runs down to the sea. The SHUTTLE settles on a landing pad on the castle’s terrace. INT. CASTLE CALADAN - MEDITATION ROOM 8 8 From her high window, Jessica watches the shuttle descend. JESSICA’S POV A gangway lowers from the shuttle outside. Four women in Bene Gesserit robes descend the ramp and wait. An OLD WOMAN in the ceremonial cloak of a REVEREND MOTHER follows, her sure strong steps belying her great age. INT. PAUL’S BEDROOM - NIGHT 9 9 PAUL ATREIDES, 16, lies sleeping. His angular face showing a clear resemblance to Jessica, his mother. 3. He stirs in his sleep. Eyes darting beneath closed lids. INSERT - THE DREAM GIRL Shallow focus. In golden lantern-light, a GIRL gazes into our eyes from kissing distance. Her eyes impossibly blue. JESSICA (PRE-LAP) Paul. Wake up. BEDROOM Paul’s eyelids flutter in the grip of the dream. He whispers: PAUL You are the desert spring. JESSICA (O.S.) Paul. His eyes open. Half-asleep. Confused. It takes him a moment to focus. He blinks in surprise to find Jessica in his room. PAUL Mother. I was dreaming. She takes a uniform from his closet and lays it on his bed. JESSICA Get dressed and come with me. Her voice tight with controlled emotion. She turns and exits. LIBRARY 10 10 Jessica leads Paul into the library -- wooden shelves heavy with ancient books. Suspensor lights hover in the gloom. Paul is dressed in black with silver trim, a hint of military style. The green Atreides hawk emblazoned on his jacket. He is mystified about the purpose of this midnight awakening. He finds the REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM, 75, waiting for them. She sits in a heavy wooden chair, her aged face ghostly against her black cloak. Her eyes glitter as she studies him. JESSICA The Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam. She was my teacher at the Bene Gesserit school. Now she is Truthsayer to the Emperor himself. She curtsies and steps aside. Paul is astonished by this meekness in his mother. He studies the Reverend Mother. 4. She takes the measure of him in turn. His stance. His stare. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Defiance in the eyes. Like his father. (to Jessica) Leave us. Jessica turns to go, reluctant but obedient. She pauses. JESSICA Paul. The test you’re about to receive... PAUL Test? JESSICA You must do everything the Reverend Mother tells you. Remember you’re a Duke’s son. She hurries out. Paul glares at the Reverend Mother. PAUL You dismiss my mother like a servant in her own house. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM The Bene Gesserit exist to serve. SIT DOWN. The command cracks like a whip, her voice suddenly more than human. Compelling obedience irresistibly. This is THE VOICE. Paul sits on the footstool, helpless to resist. Shaken. PAUL You used the Voice on me! She lifts a green metal cube, six inches tall, from the folds of her robes. Sets it on the arm of her chair. One side opens into a black interior which no light can illuminate. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Put your right hand in the box. Paul doesn’t comply. Defiant. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (CONT’D) Your mother bade you obey me. The invocation of his mother moves him. Reluctantly Paul puts his hand in the box. The old woman leans forward, placing her hand beside Paul’s neck. A glint of metal. He starts to turn his head -- 5. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (CONT’D) STOP. He freezes. Breathing hard. We see a long gleaming NEEDLE, rock-steady in the old woman’s hand. Almost touching him. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (CONT’D) I hold at your neck the gom jabbar. A poison needle. Instant death. This test is simple. Remove your hand from the box, and you die. Paul stares at her incredulously. This is madness. PAUL If I call out, the guards will come. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Your mother stands outside that door. OUTSIDE THE DOOR Jessica stands with her back to the door like a sentry. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (V.O.) No one will get past her. Jessica’s face is taut with terror. Her son’s life hangs in the balance. She begins to whisper the Litany against Fear: JESSICA I must not fear. Fear is the mind- killer. Fear is the little death that brings obliteration. IN THE LIBRARY Paul stares at the Reverend Mother apprehensively. PAUL What’s in the box? REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Pain. And suddenly he feels it: a tingling sensation in his fingers that makes his breath catch. He hisses in pain. OUTSIDE THE DOOR Jessica’s voice shakes as she whispers the Litany. JESSICA I will face my fear. Let it pass over me and through me. 6. IN THE LIBRARY Sweat beads on Paul’s forehead as the pain grows into agony. PAUL Why are you doing this? REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM To determine whether you’re human. An animal caught in a trap will gnaw off its own leg to escape. What will you do? Paul moans through clenched teeth. His left hand balled into a white-knuckled fist, his arm trembling. Pain! OUTSIDE THE DOOR Jessica closes her eyes. JESSICA When it has passed I will turn my inner eye to see its path. IN THE LIBRARY Paul trembles. The gom jabbar glints against his neck. The Reverend Mother’s eyes burn into him. He is panting. INSERT: Paul’s hand inside the box. Like a hand in a bonfire. The skin blackening. Splitting. Paul CRIES OUT involuntarily. The Reverend Mother hisses: REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Silence! OUTSIDE THE DOOR Jessica’s voice rises -- JESSICA And where the fear has gone there will be nothing! IN THE LIBRARY Paul shudders in excruciating pain. Locking eyes with the old Reverend Mother. At the very edge of his endurance. INSERT: Paul’s hand. Crisp flesh falling from charred bones. Paul shuts his eyes. His mouth opens in a silent scream. 7. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Enough! The pain cuts off at once. Paul’s eyes snap open with a gasp. OUTSIDE THE DOOR Jessica opens her eyes. JESSICA Only I will remain. IN THE LIBRARY The Reverend Mother stares at Paul as he gasps in relief: sweaty, breathing hard. She is shocked at herself. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM No woman-child ever withstood so much. I must’ve wanted you to fail. Take your hand from the box, boy, and look at it. Reluctantly Paul complies -- sure he will see a ruined stump. But his hand is unmarked. He wiggles his fingers, amazed. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (CONT’D) Pain by nerve induction. We can’t go around maiming potential humans. He stares at her, his curiosity overriding his anger. PAUL What is this test for? The Reverend Mother smiles, concealing the box in her robes. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Like sifting sand through a screen. We sift people to find the humans. If you were unable to control your impulses, like an animal -- we could not let you live. You inherit too much power. PAUL Because I’m a Duke’s son? REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Because you are Jessica’s son. You have more than one birthright, boy. You’ve proven you can rule yourself. Now you must learn to rule others. It’s something none of your ancestors learned. 8. PAUL My father rules an entire planet. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM He’s losing it. PAUL He’s getting a richer planet. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM He’ll lose that one too. Arrakis is a deathtrap, boy. The die is cast. Paul stares at her, disconcerted. What does she mean? OUTSIDE THE DOOR Jessica stands rigid, serene. Waiting. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (O.S.) (CONT’D) Jessica! Jessica goes in, fear on her face. At the sight of Paul her face floods with relief. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (CONT’D) Your mother was tested with the gom jabbar when she was your age. Paul looks at Jessica in astonishment. But the Reverend Mother changes the subject, pulling at his attention. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (CONT’D) Tell me about these dreams. Paul hesitates. This old woman knows all his secrets. PAUL I had one tonight. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM What did you see? PAUL A girl. In a cave on Arrakis. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Have you dreamt of her before? PAUL Many times. I will know her. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Do you often dream things that happen just as you dreamed them? 9. PAUL Yes. Someone dies in that cave. The Reverend Mother takes that in gravely. Looks at Jessica. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Your son has depths. But it takes more than a touch of the Sight. You’ve been training him in the Way. JESSICA Yes. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM I’d have done the same, and the Devil take the rules. Carry on. Ignore the regular order of training. His safety requires the Voice. And deadlier weapons. She looks up at Paul with glinting eyes. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (CONT’D) Goodbye, young human. I hope you live. EXT. CASTLE CALADAN - TERRACE LANDING PAD - NIGHT 11 11 Jessica walks Reverend Mother back to her ship in the rain. The old woman carries a short staff in her hand: a SHIELD PROJECTOR that wards off the rain with an invisible dome. Water runs in rivulets over the shield and patters down around the two women as they walk. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM So much potential, wasted on a male. You were told to bear only daughters! JESSICA It meant so much to Leto. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM You’re his concubine, not his wife. (mockingly) Your Duke wanted a son. And you in your pride thought you could produce the Kwisatz Haderach! JESSICA (defiantly) I sensed the possibility. 10. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Vanity! An Atreides daughter could have been wed to a Harkonnen son and united both Houses. Instead we shall have chaos and war. We could lose both bloodlines now. The defiance drains out of Jessica. She looks frightened. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (CONT’D) The Missionaria Protectiva has prepared the way. There is hope for the boy. But for the father... The words are a dagger in Jessica’s heart. MOMENTS LATER Jessica stands in the rain in her hooded cloak, watching the shuttle lift off. Rain sheets off the ovoid spacecraft and dances in the floodlights. The ship rises into the clouds. Jessica turns to walk back inside -- and finds Paul standing behind her in the rain. Staring at her. They face each other uncertainly, ten feet of empty space between them. PAUL You just walked me into that room. The hurt and accusation in his voice breaks her heart. JESSICA It was the same for me, a long time ago. He looks at her with new eyes. Questioning everything. PAUL She said I have more than one birthright. What does that mean? Jessica throws back her hood. Letting the rain soak her the way it’s soaking Paul. Humbling herself. JESSICA The Bene Gesserit provide concubines to the Noble-born. Leaving them free to marry for political advantage. We’re companions. Bodyguards. Counselors. We bear extraordinary children. We say we exist to serve (she hesitates) But that’s not all we do. 11. Paul’s hyper-acute mind is already tunneling into the problem. A flash of insight. He stares at her, shocked. PAUL You control the bloodlines of the Great Houses. You’re breeding them. His leap of intuition startles her. She nods, shaken. JESSICA And placing members of our Sister- hood beside them. To guide them, toward peace. Enlightenment. Paul is stunned. His life suddenly thrown into a new light. PAUL All part of a plan. Do you... love my father? JESSICA Yes! He hesitates to ask the next question, looking very young. PAUL Do you love me? Jessica’s face crumples. JESSICA Oh, Paul. She strides across the space between them and throws her arms around him. They cling to each other in the downpour. INT. CASTLE CALADAN - PAUL’S STUDY - MORNING 12 12 In the early light, Paul sits studying a tabletop hologram. It shows images of ARRAKIS, a harsh desert planet, and of the FREMEN -- the enigmatic cloaked people of the deep desert. In the doorway behind Paul, a man appears: THUFIR HAWAT, 75. Gray-haired and slender, his eyes hawkishly keen. He is a MENTAT, a human supercomputer who sees intricate probabilities as clearly as most of us see the weather. Paul doesn’t turn as Hawat enters. PAUL I know, Thufir. I’m sitting with my back to the door. I knew it was you by your footsteps. 12. HAWAT Someone might imitate my stride. PAUL I’d know the difference. Have you seen my father? HAWAT He’s with the Planning Council. We leave for Arrakis in a few days. To say he is busy sells the matter short. His eyes go to the hologram table, where an orange-red hurricane wheels over the southern hemisphere of Arrakis. HAWAT (CONT’D) You’ve been studying the sandstorms on Arrakis. The winds reach seven hundred kilometers per hour! They’ll cut through metal or bone. PAUL But there’s people living in the open desert where those storms blow. The Fremen. HAWAT Humans are endlessly adaptable. They’ve lived there for thousands of years. PAUL And then Spice was discovered -- and their planet became a prize for the Imperium and the Great Houses to fight over. HAWAT And now that prize will be ours. PAUL If we can keep it. Did you meet the Reverend Mother? HAWAT The Imperial Truthsayer! Yes, why? PAUL Do you think she can see the future? HAWAT As a Mentat I trade in probabilities, not prophecies. What did the old witch say to you? 13. PAUL She said Arrakis is a trap. HAWAT It is a trap. Paul frowns, still troubled by the morning’s events. HAWAT (CONT’D) Our enemies mean for us to fail there. Lose everything. But when you see the trap laid for you, it can become an opportunity. PAUL Isn’t success another trap? HAWAT What do you mean? PAUL Mining spice for profit...keeping the Fremen in their place...we’re no better than Harkonnens. We become what we despise. Hawat grins, pleased with Paul’s moral compass. HAWAT You know your father better than that. A wise ruler can lift his people up as easily as keep them down. Your father sent Duncan Idaho to Arrakis weeks ago, on a mission I have high hopes for. And I have schemes of my own to manage. I leave for Arrakis today. PAUL Today!? HAWAT When next we meet, we will stand together on a new world. Until then, keep your shield fully charged -- and sit facing the door. He drags Paul’s suspensor chair -- with Paul in it -- around the table to face the door. Paul laughs. Thufir Hawat exits. INT. TRAINING ROOM - DAY 14 14 Paul stands in a fencing practice room. A few high-tech target dummies stand against the wall, old and battered. 14. He looks out the window. On the terrace below, servants lower a MOUNTED BULL’s HEAD into a custom-made case. Others carry a huge portrait of the Old Duke into a cargo floater. GURNEY (O.S.) What are you brooding about? GURNEY HALLECK, 45, stands behind him: a swordmaster, lethal with any weapon. His eyes flash with swashbuckling mischief. A SCAR curls along his jaw, left long ago by an inkvine whip. A BALISET, a stringed instrument, is slung across his back. His arms are full of swords and knives in scabbards. PAUL Gurney Halleck! Are you the new Weapons Master? Gurney grins raffishly. He is the closest thing to a friend Paul has among his father’s retainers. GURNEY The Weapons Master is busy packing. So I must make do as best I may. He lays the weapons out on a table in matched pairs. GURNEY (CONT’D) Choose your blade. PAUL I’ve had quite a morning, Gurney. Give us a song instead. Gurney eyes Paul darkly. He picks up a rapier. With his other hand he reaches for the baliset where it lies on the table, and without picking it up, plucks a tune: GURNEY Oh, Galacian girls Will do it for pearls. On Westerhold They’ll roll for gold. But on Arrakis A rich man’s daughter Will drop her dress For a drop of water. Paul claps mockingly. PAUL Very nice. But if my mother hears you singing that, she’ll nail your ears to the castle gates. 15. GURNEY You’re right. I can’t leave any witnesses alive. With his sword-blade he flips the other rapier to Paul. GURNEY (CONT’D) On your guard! Paul catches the sword deftly and activates his shield. A shimmering force-field appears around him. Gurney activates his own shield and prowls forward. Their blades clash. Paul STRIKES, rapidly -- his blade making splashes of light in the air where Gurney’s shield blocks the blow -- Then he lunges more slowly -- and slips his rapier into Gurney’s shield. Only the slow blade penetrates. They fence -- a sparkle of energy where their shields intersect -- until Paul attempts another slow attack. Gurney grabs Paul’s blade in his gloved hand, lunges through Paul’s shield and SLAPS PAUL’S FACE with the flat of his blade. Paul jerks back, shocked. Rubbing his cheek. Gurney glowers. GURNEY (CONT’D) Never let a man inside your guard! Even in sport! Not even me! PAUL I guess I’m not in the mood today. Gurney appears to become genuinely angry. GURNEY Mood?! What has mood to do with it? You fight when the necessity arises, no matter your mood! Now fight! He attacks fiercely, his sword snaking into Paul’s shield. Paul falls back, hard-pressed. He draws a dagger from his wrist-sheath, giving him two blades to defend himself with. The anger on Gurney’s face unsettles him. Is this real? Cornered, Paul activates his shield belt’s SUSPENSOR FIELD -- and leaps over Gurney’s head, swords clashing on the way, to land lightly behind him. Gurney spins, snarling. GURNEY (CONT’D) What’s the matter? Can’t face me on the ground? 16. He switches on his own suspensors -- and leaps after Paul. His rapier is a flickering flame of death. Paul’s in trouble. He takes a deep breath. EXT. CALADAN CASTLE - PAVILION - DAY 15 15 A pavilion open to the elements -- greenery on all sides. Rain drums on the roof and patters from the eaves. Beautiful. Jessica and Paul move across the pavilion, synchronized. Performing a kind of kata -- a stylized martial arts drill. It is slow and graceful like tai chi -- violence veiled. We focus on their movement -- a foot sweep -- a turn -- INT. TRAINING ROOM - DAY 16 16 Paul repeats the same movement, faster: a darting foot-sweep. A rotating sidestep. A lightning slash of the rapier blade. Gurney parries just in time, his eyes sparking. Impressed. GURNEY That’s not Duncan Idaho. Who taught you that? He redoubles his attack. Paul falls back. He leaps away, caroming off the wall. Gurney matches his leap -- and when they land Paul is cornered. Gasping for air. GURNEY (CONT’D) Come on! EXT. CALADAN CASTLE - PAVILION - DAY 17 17 Jessica and Paul sit cross-legged, face to face, knees almost touching. They are sparring, their hands flashing through the space between them. Graceful. Serene. Lethal. INT. TRAINING ROOM - DAY 18 18 Paul’s hands adopt the swift, circular motion of his memory. He deflects Gurney’s blades, gets inside his guard -- and his blade stops, quivering, an inch from Gurney’s throat. PAUL I have you. GURNEY Aye. But look down, m’lord. 17. Paul glances down without lowering his sword. Gurney has a dagger in his left hand, the blade an inch from Paul’s groin. GURNEY (CONT’D) You’d have joined me in death. He grins and deactivates his shield, sheathing his blades. His menacing aspect melting away. GURNEY (CONT’D) I see you found the mood. Paul sighs and puts away his own weapons. PAUL Would you really have hurt me? GURNEY If you’d fought one whit below your best, I’d have given you a scar to remind you. You need to be sharp. Soon we go to Arrakis! PAUL Will it be that bad? GURNEY House Harkonnen controlled Arrakis for eighty years! They have grown fat on it. They won’t give it up without a fight. EXT. SPACE - GIEDI PRIME 19 19 A charcoal-gray world orbits a cold blue sun. SUPER: GIEDI PRIME - HOMEWORLD OF HOUSE HARKONNEN EXT. HARKONNEN PALACE - DAY 20 20 A massive fortress of brutalist architecture. Guns on the battlements. Guards at every door in dark orange uniforms, with the black Harkonnen griffin emblem. A SKIFF arrives at the palace gates. “BEAST” RABBAN HARKONNEN steps out: a bull of a man with a glowering look. He walks like a wrestler, his thick body heavy with muscle. BARON’S CHAMBERS - CONTINUOUS 21 21 A room of ostentatious finery, its domed ceiling trimmed with gold, furniture laden with sumptuous cushions. 18.