We learned in “Dune: Part One” that Paul Atreide’s mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), is pregnant. In both Herbert’s original book and David Lynch’s underrated “Dune” movie, Jessica’s daughter is pre-born — meaning she gained consciousness and a personality even while in the womb — due to exposure to the Water of Life. Toward the end of the book, Alia is only four years old, yet she essentially acts like an adult, even assassinating Baron Harkonnen with a knife.
“Dune: Part Two” doesn’t feature a four-year-old talking like a grown woman, but Alia is still very much a part of the film. You see, she is technically never born during the actual film. Given that Villeneuve condenses the timeline of the story from years to a few months at most, this makes sense. And yet, even though Alia is not physically seen by the characters, her presence is all over the film. Anya Taylor-Joy voices the unborn Alia in voice-over narrations that accompany most of the story.
Most importantly, and much funnier, the camera constantly cuts to Jessica’s womb, showing the developing fetus listening and even reacting to what’s happening around her, clearly aware of Paul’s actions. What’s more, Jessica is constantly having conversations with her unborn child while walking around the very confused Fremen. Alia may not be a super-powered child, but she is now a super-powered unborn child who talks to and even seems to command her mother. It is bizarre, and it is deeply amusing.
Villeneuve wanted “Dune: Part Two” to fix things he disliked in the novel by giving Jessica a bigger role, and he succeeded. The thing is, her role most involves being influenced by her baby into creating a cult of personality for Paul, with Alia plotting and conniving even before she’s born.
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