Paul Atreides

Paul Atreides
Dune character
Timothée Chalamet as Paul in Dune (2021)
First appearanceDune (1963–65)
Created byFrank Herbert
Portrayed by
In-universe information
Alias
Usul
Title
Padishah Emperor
OccupationMentat
AffiliationFremen
FamilyHouse Atreides
SpousePrincess Irulan
Significant otherChani (concubine)
Children
Relatives

Paul Atreides (/əˈtreɪɪdiːz/;[2] later known as Paul Muad'Dib, and later still as The Preacher) is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He is a main character in the first two novels in the series, Dune (1965) and Dune Messiah (1969), and returns in Children of Dune (1976). The character is brought back as two different gholas in the Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson novels which conclude the original series, Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007), and appears in the prequels Paul of Dune (2008) and The Winds of Dune (2009). According to Brian Herbert, Frank Herbert's son and biographer, House Atreides was based on the heroic but ill-fated Greek mythological house of Atreus.

A primary theme of Dune and its sequels is Frank Herbert's warning about society's tendencies to "give over every decision-making capacity" to a charismatic leader.[3] He said in 1979, "The bottom line of the Dune trilogy is: beware of heroes. Much better [to] rely on your own judgment, and your own mistakes."[4] Paul rises to leadership through military strategy and political maneuvering, but his superhuman powers and ability to fit himself into pre-existing religious infrastructure allow him to force himself upon mankind as their messiah. As "Muad'Dib", Paul becomes the central figure of a new religion, and reluctantly unleashes a bloody jihad in his name across the universe. Paul struggles with the idea of potentially seizing divine control over his newly minted empire, but by following the path of his destiny, he escapes from the burden of it. He lets an assassination plot against him play out, blinding him, and follows the Fremen tradition of the blind going out into the desert to die. The burden of the empire is then placed upon Paul's sister Alia, and his children Leto II and Ghanima. Paul later reappears as the Preacher, seeking to end the religion founded around him, but is assassinated.

Paul is portrayed by Kyle MacLachlan in David Lynch's 1984 film adaptation, by Alec Newman in the 2000 Dune miniseries and its 2003 sequel, and by Timothée Chalamet in the 2021 Denis Villeneuve film Dune and its 2024 sequel.

  1. ^ The Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson establishes that Tanidia Nerus is an alias of Gaius Helen Mohiam.
  2. ^ Dune: Creating the Audiobooks (Official promotional video, includes images of Frank Herbert's pronunciation notes for some terms). Macmillan Audio. December 23, 2008. Event occurs at 4:04. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Touponce 12 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Clareson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).