Dune 2 Makes Feyd-Rautha Even More Evil Than The Books With 1 Revelation

The main antagonist of Dune: Part Two, Feyd-Rautha, is even more evil than his literary counterpart, or at least, so it would seem. Played by Austin Butler, Feyd-Rautha is presented as a psychotic killer with a brutal temper. While the character in Frank Herbert’s original novel certainly isn’t a nice guy, Dune: Part Two goes one step further in making him sinister.

Feyd-Rautha is introduced in Dune 2 as the sadistic nephew of the Baron (Stellan Skarsgård) and the heir to House Harkonnen. Serving as the film’s main antagonist, Feyd-Rautha ends up fighting Paul Atreides, while proving to be a difficult opponent for the lead character. Though it is largely a faithful adaptation, Dune: Part Two makes several big changes to Herbert’s novel. One of which is an alteration to Feyd-Rautha’s backstory that adds a whole new level of villainy to the character.

Dune 2 Confirms Feyd-Rautha Killed His Mother With New Detail

Director Denis Villeneuve Made A Slight Change To Feyd-Rautha’s Backstory

After being absent from 2021’s Dune, Feyd-Rautha first appears roughly a third of the way through Dune: Part Two, where he is introduced as an heir with a penchant for killing. Owing to the fact that Feyd-Rautha isn’t very big on words, preferring, instead, to let his actions do the talking, the character’s backstory is mostly relayed to the audience through conversations between Princess Irulan, Lady Margot, and the other Bene Gesserit. Though, by the end of the Dune: Part Two, much of his early life remains a mystery, it is revealed that Feyd-Rautha killed his own mother.

The circumstances surrounding his mother’s death are not explained, with the claim existing solely as a throwaway line. The revelation does, however, create a disparity between the film and the book it’s based on. At no point in Herbert’s original novel is it stated that Feyd-Rautha was responsible for his mother’s death. Instead, the character’s backstory involved him being taken from his parents by the Baron at a young age to turn him into a weapon. It’s likely that the change was made as a quick way of giving Feyd-Rautha a backstory while making him seem more evil.

Feyd-Rautha Killing His Mom Makes Dune 2’s Villain Even Scarier

Dune 2’s Feyd-Rautha Details Further Confirms His Sadistic Nature

From the moment he appears onscreen, Feyd-Rautha is portrayed as an especially villainous character. Not afraid to slit the throats of innocents, Feyd-Rautha also has a harem of cannibalistic women. It seems the film’s director, Denis Villeneuve, was keen to create a memorable villain by heightening the particularly scary aspects of Feyd-Rautha’s character. The revelation that Feyd-Rautha killed his own mother certainly does this. It removes any shred of humanity or decency he may have had and makes the audience aware that there is no one Feyd-Rautha isn’t willing to kill.

It’s also possible that Villeneuve and his colleagues added this line in order to restore the character’s reputation following his previous depiction in 1984’s Dune. Directed by David Lynch, the 1984 adaptation starred English musician Sting as Feyd-Rautha. However, this version of the character, much like the movie as a whole, was not well received. Sting’s Feyd-Rautha was more of a henchman who lacked the menace and unpredictability of the character in the original novel. Thanks to Butler’s epic performance in Dune: Part Two and the shocking revelation of matricide, Feyd-Rautha’s sinister reputation has been restored.