Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Dune and Dune: Part Two!
Rebecca Ferguson has opened up about a scene cut from 2021’s Dune featuring Lady Jessica and Baron Harkonnen, linking the characters before Dune: Part Two. The newest film adapting Frank Herbert’s sci-fi novel reveals that Paul’s mother is the Baron’s daughter, something she herself was unaware of before she became the Fremen’s Reverend Mother. The revelation enhances Paul’s final attack, as well as his killing of the Harkonnen leader.
Speaking with the ReelBlend Podcast, Ferguson revealed there was a cut scene between Jessica and Baron Harkonnen in Dune 2021.
Speaking at 30:17, the actor revealed how a scene of the Baron pressing down on her character was axed from the first film, which she speculates was because of the unclear connection it made between the Atreides and Harkonnen family tree. Check out what Ferguson had to say below:
There’s a scene – and I’ve seen the footage out there, but they cut the scene – in the first…film where, when our characters are kidnapped, right before we get thrown on the ornithopter…Paul and Jessica. Then there’s a scene where Jessica is lying with her arms bound and her legs. And she’s lying on this huge open space, it’s a carpet, and you see it from a bird perspective, I think. In this tiny little fetal position, right? Now what the scene is that they cut is, all of a sudden, you come down to her face, and this thing in the background is just lowering himself, on top of her, and rolls his body on her. And you see that it is Vladimir Harkonnen. And he’s pushing air out of her, so she can’t breathe. And literally her eyes are nearly popping, and he whispers something in her ear. And it was cut. And my sadness is the fact that when you find out [Jessica is Baron Harkonnen’s daughter], it becomes a really odd dynamic, that scene, because it’s oddly sensual and sexual and weird. And also it left us wondering what this relationship was, and I wonder if that’s why he cut it. Because it did link us. That private moment really put us in a room by ourselves. That’s one of my favorite scenes, which I was sad, but it always happens, right?
Why Cutting Jessica & Baron Harkonnen’s Dune Scene Made Sense
The scene Ferguson described would have offered a stronger connection between Jessica and the Baron prior to the revelation of their family ties. It would have laid the groundwork for Paul killing his grandfather during Dune: Part Two‘s ending much earlier by hinting at an as-yet-unclear connection. While the revelation would not be clear by the time Dune was over, it would have made for fitting setup for the reveal in its sequel.
However, the revelation that Paul and Jessica are of Harkonnen heritage is a twist that adds to the thematic nature of the sequel. After discovering their true lineage, the young Atreides Duke decides to fully embrace his role as the Lisan al-Gaib, leading the Fremen into battle. His decision to fight the Harkonnens similarly to how they invaded his home shows his willingness to use bloodlines as justification for his actions. This twist may not have worked as well if it were hinted at in the first film.
Cutting the scene from Dune also nullifies any confusion surrounding the connection between Jessica and the Baron. By introducing the concept through Paul’s dreams and visions, the twist is maintained without adding uncertainty to what their real connection is. This keeps the films from delivering false information through its presentation, while also adding another surprise to its follow-up movie.
Dune
Dune the big-screen adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal bestseller of the same name. A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.
- Director
- Denis Villeneuve
- Release Date
- October 22, 2021
- Studio(s)
- Legendary Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- Writers
- Frank Herbert , Eric Roth , Denis Villeneuve , Jon Spaihts
- Cast
- Dave Bautista , Rebecca Ferguson , Sharon Duncan-Brewster , Jason Momoa , David Dastmalchian , Stephen McKinley Henderson , Stellan Skarsgård , Charlotte Rampling , Chang Chen , Oscar Isaac , Zendaya , Javier Bardem , Timothee Chalamet , Josh Brolin
- Runtime
- 155 minutes
