Dune director Denis Villeneuve says he identified a very "influential" character in Frank Herbert's novel, which helped him to narrow his focus for the film adaptation.
In a first-person piece for Empire magazine, Villeneuve revealed how he combined his own vision with the soul of the source material to pen Dune's script with co-writers Eric Roth and Jon Spaihts. He explained that he wanted to bring the female characters to the forefront of the story as he recognized Rebecca Ferguson's Lady Jessica as an important character.
"For me, it was important to bring more femininity to the story," Villeneuve said. "I am fascinated by the relationship of femininity and power, the place of women in society. [Screenwriter] Eric Roth said, 'If you had one aspect of the novel you would like me to focus on, what would it be?' I said, 'The women.'
"The entire story unfolds because of Lady Jessica, because of a decision she made to give birth to Paul instead of a girl [via a breeding programme]," he added, honing in on Timothee Chalamet's Paul Atreides and his mother. "She's a fascinating character, one of the most influential and most interesting in the novel."
Jessica is a member of the Bene Gesserit religious order and helps Paul nurture his fledgling psychic abilities as their family moves to the planet Arrakis. Jessica's relationship with her order is strained after her failure to bear Duke Leto a daughter, but the Bene Gesserit still take a keen interest in Paul and his latent superhuman potential.
Villeneuve previously spoke about the challenges of finding the equilibrium between satisfying fans of the book as well as mainstream audiences with his film adaptation. He had to decide what to include and exclude from the original novel and unfortunately as a result of that process Gurney Halleck's baliset ended up on the cutting room floor.
We'll find out how it all plays out when Dune Part 1 releases in theaters and on HBO Max on October 22. The movie had its world premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on September 3, and the first impressions of the star-studded sci-fi epic have started to emerge. Read IGN's review of Dune by clicking here.
Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.