MRT’s The Path to Dune continues with exclusive content on director Denis Villeneuve’s highly anticipated adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi novel. Our first focus House Atreides This week, we focus on the Fremen, a unique, rebellious community of the desert planet Arrakis.
Dune takes place thousands of years in the future, in this universe humans have spread to other worlds in the galaxy. Power is shared between a monarch known as the Sultan Emperor, the Space Guild, and feudal households called the Landsraad. Technologies such as computers or atomic weapons are prohibited during this period. A psychotropic spice called melange can bend the mind and prolong life. Some of those who use it also acquire psychic powers and can even access past memories of their ancestors. Melange, on the other hand, is located on only one planet in the universe, the desert planet Arrakis, where life is quite difficult. This planet is also known as Dune.
Since Arrakis is the only planet where Melange is found in the universe, the Fremen, the local people of the planet, are often subjected to pressure and abuse by those who want to obtain this substance. Disregarded by the Empire’s ruthless warriors and brigands, in reality the Fremen are those who know Arrakis best, and they know Melange’s nature better than anyone else. They have spent thousands of years cultivating the planet and awaiting their messiah while learning to survive the harsh climate. (And it’s possible that this person is Paul Atreides, but we’ll cover more about him later.)
There are three important Fremen characters who take an active part in the first part of Dune. The first of these:
Chani
Zendaya’s character, Chani, plays an important role in the journey of Paul Atreides, played by Timothee Chalamet. Chani, a native of Arrakis, takes up arms with other Fremen against the oppressive House Harkonnen. These lords brutally coerced the Fremen to extract the spice. Chani’s fate intersects with that of Paul Atreides, who dreams of this young woman in a world he has never been to. The Fremen will at some point believe that Paul is the savior they’ve been waiting for for thousands of years. Paul, too, reluctantly takes the name Muad’Dib and takes Chani as his show lover, leading the Fremen to start a rebellion against the galaxy’s monarch.
Stilgar
“The desert was ours long before you came.” A wise and fierce warrior, Stilgar (Oscar winner Javier Bardem) is dedicated to protecting his people, their culture, and their planet from those who try to oppress and plunder it. Stilgar is also a survivalist who carries the weight of his people’s past and future on his shoulders. Stilgar’s primary purpose is to protect the nature of Arrakis and ensure the existence and safety of the Fremen.
Dr. Liet Kynes
Sharon Duncan-Brewster plays an Imperial planetary scientist who studies Arrakis. Brewster also acts as an ambassador between the Empire and the Fremen. You’ll notice that Brewster has the same sharp blue eyes as the Fremen who use the spice. He is the child of an out of this world and a Fremen. (Liet Kynes was a male character in Frank Herbert’s original book.)
The third installment of MRT’s Dune Journey will be out next week on Thursday, August 26, and will introduce House Harkonnen with exclusive character videos.
You can follow The Path to Dune, i.e. Our Journey to Dune, which is available every Thursday, on MRT to get ready for the movie, which will be released on October 15 in Turkey and October 22 in the US and UK.
