Given that Christopher Walken’s character, Emperor Shaddam IV, will play a key role in Dune: Part Two, it’s worth looking into the context and history of the character. Denis Villeneuve made the wise decision to split Frank Herbert’s nearly 900-page novel Dune into two films for his adaptation. The move gives the story room to breathe and helps even out the patchy pacing, while also pushing back the debut of Emperor Shaddam IV, the main villain of Dune, to the sequel. The part will be played by Christopher Walken, and, based on all available information from the upcoming Dune: Part Two, will diverge from previous incarnations in key ways.
Despite Dune: Part Two’s release delays, the film has kept its cards close to its chest, particularly when it comes to the Emperor. The character only appears with a single line in the most recent trailer, but the moment confirms plenty about the tone of the character and of Christopher Walken’s performance. The first film’s main villain is Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skårsgard), who attacks the royal house of protagonist Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) after the Emperor gives House Atreides control of the spice planet, Arrakis. However, it’s the Emperor who’s revealed to be pulling the strings, and Part Two will doubtless explore why in further detail.
Emperor Shaddam IV Is The Main Villain Of Dune 2
Much like he is in the book, Emperor Shaddam is the main antagonist for Paul Atreides in Dune. The Emperor, whose full name is Shaddam Corrino IV, is the 81st and last of Padishah line. It’s a position which gives him final legal authority and control over the Sarduakar, an elite fighting force reputed to be the most fearsome in the galaxy. While it’s Baron Harkonnen who constitutes the most immediate threat in the first movie, attacking House Atreides and killing Paul’s father Leto (Oscar Isaac), his actions were actually directed by the big bad of the series, Emperor Shaddam, making him the real mastermind of the entire affair.
Emperor Shaddam sought to wipe out House Atreides out of fear that the charismatic and respected Leto Atreides could depose him as Emperor, so he loaned his Sarduakar fighters to House Harkonnen for use in a devastating attack on Arrakis. However, it’s this very same attack that galvanized Paul against the Emperor. Shaddam IV doesn’t appear in the first Dune movie, as his first appearance in the Dune book doesn’t occur until around 700 pages in. Nevertheless, it’s Shaddam IV, not House Harkonnen, that constitutes an existential threat to Paul and the remainder of House Atreides, and thus, it’s the Emperor whom Paul will have to defeat over the course of Dune: Part Two.
Christopher Walken Plays Emperor Shaddam In Dune 2
The casting of Emperor Shaddam was kept under wraps long into the Dune films’ production. Several names were theorized, including Mahershala Ali, Bryan Cranston, and Michael Shannon, before it was finally announced that Christopher Walken would be playing the ruler. The actor has seen a lengthy Hollywood career, with numerous performances that qualify Christopher Walken as the perfect Emperor. The actor rose to prominence with a starmaking role in The Deer Hunter, where he plays the haunted and irrational Nick. Walken’s unique vocal delivery and intense performance style render the actor capable of delivering captivating villain performances and memorable one-scene appearances.
Both skills will prove important for the Emperor, who may need to make his mark as a fearsome antagonist with little screen time. In Pulp Fiction, Walken’s iconic “gold watch” monologue demonstrates that the actor is more than capable of holding his own in a stacked ensemble cast with only a brief scene. In performances ranging from the industrialist showman Max Shreck in Batman Returns to the unholy headless horseman in Sleepy Hollow, Walken demonstrates a wide portfolio of electrifying villain roles that elevate the work in which they appear.
How Dune 2’s Emperor Shaddam Compares To The Books
Based on the brief appearance from Walken’s Emperor Shaddam in the Dune: Part Two trailer, there are already some key differences with the Dune book’s Emperor. Most significantly, Walken’s Emperor looks much older than his book counterpart. In the novel, the Emperor is 70 years old, but his regular consumption of spice gives him the appearance of a man in his 30s. It’s a detail that gives a strange edge to Paul and The Emperor’s dynamic, as Shaddam’s seniority of years is concealed behind a visage not much older that Paul’s.
However, the film shows an 80-year-old Christopher Walken looking his age, meaning this detail likely won’t play into the adaptation. Nevertheless, the glimpse of Walken’s performance suggests the portrayal will deliver on the book characterization in other ways. The Emperor’s half-whispered line, “your father was a weak man,” supports the book ruler’s obsession with projecting strength. Likewise, the moment shows that Walken’s Emperor possesses the gravitas of his character in the novel, as well as his apparent proclivity for manipulation, as he seeks to control Paul through invocations of the late Leto Artreides.
How Christopher Walken’s Emperor Shaddam Compares To José Ferrer’s
With only a few seconds of screen time, Christopher Walken’s portrayal of Emperor Shaddam is already markedly different from José Ferrer’s turn as the character in David Lynch’s ill-fated 1984 Dune adaptation. Lynch’s take on the sci-fi story is eccentric, complete with lush production design and imaginative imagery. However, the film is also plagued by inconsistency, with a confused tone and performances that range from muted and realistic to cartoonishly over-the-top. While José Ferrer is an accomplished actor whose appearance in 1950’s Cyrano De Bergerac earned him an Academy Award, his turn as the Emperor is one of the most ridiculous in Dune.
Ferrer plays Shaddam with a stilted, mustache-twirling energy that makes him difficult to take seriously as a threat. On the other hand, Walken’s hushed tones and somber intensity speak to a subtler performance, one more closely aligned with Villeneuve’s grittier telling. Glimpses of Walken’s attire in the trailer likewise suggest a muted look that’s fairly removed from the ornate dress of Ferrer’s character, which is heavily influenced by 20th century European monarchy. However, both Lynch’s Dune and Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two depict the Emperor as an older man, doing away entirely with the book detail of the Emperor maintaining a youthful appearance due to spice.
