With roughly one year until Denis Villeneuve unveils his lofty vision for Dune: Part Three in December 2026, all eyes turn to how the filmmaker will bridge the gap between Frank Herbert’s original 1965 sci-fi novel and its 1969 follow-up, Dune Messiah. One significant change that fans can expect is a much smaller role for Lady Jessica Atreides, played beautifully by Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson in Dune and Dune: Part 2.
But fret not, folks. Despite taking a drastically reduced role from the first two epic sci-fi spectacles, Ferguson has assured fans that Villeneuve has a coy trick up his sleeve that could expand Lady Jessica’s role beyond her functions in Dune Messiah. Apart from exploring why Ferguson will participate less in Dune: Part Three, it’s time to preview potential differences between the book and the upcoming adaptation.
Who is Lady Jessica Atreides in ‘Dune’?
A crucial figure in Frank Herbert’s Dune, the bestselling sci-fi novel ever written, Lady Jessica Atreides is a devout follower and practitioner of the Bene Gesserit. The Bene Gesserit is a powerful, all-female sect that possesses advanced extrasensory powers used to guide a massive breeding program. The program mandates the Bene Gesserit to bear a female child who will give birth to Kwisatz Haderach, a brave and intelligent messiah who will lead humanity to a more prosperous future.
Despite her dedication to the cause, Lady Jessica defies the breeding mandate and gives birth to a son, Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet in Dune 2021). In addition to being Paul’s mother, Lady Jessica (Ferguson) is also the concubine of Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac), Paul’s father and the head of House Atreides, one of many warring factions on the planet Arrakis. Leto’s servants train Paul to be the fiercest warrior he can be, while Jessica imparts the Bene Gesserit’s philosophy to him.
As Paul begins having troubling visions of the future, Jessica is one of his only trusted confidants, helping him keep the Bene Gesserit’s goals in focus. Despite being defeated by House Harkkonen in Part 1, Jessica continues to guide Paul toward his messianic fate in Part 2. Forced by Freman leader Stilgar (Javier Bardem) to succeed The Reverend Mother by imbibing the deadly Water of Life, Jessica survives drinking the poisonous liquid. However, she has visions of her ancestors’ memories, including her unborn daughter, Alia (Anya Taylor-Joy), which she uses to prevent a catastrophic war.
While that’s a brief synopsis, and there is much more to the character, the point is that Lady Jessica Atreides was one of the main characters who drove the narrative in Dune Part I and Dune Part II. In Dune Part III, however, Lady Jessica’s role will be drastically reduced.
What is ‘Dune: Part 3’ About?
While Parts 1 and 2 were adapted from Frank Herbert’s Dune novel, Part 3 is a sequel based on Herbert’s follow-up book, Dune Messiah. Set in the future when Paul Atreides has ruled the universe as Emperor Maud-Dib for 12 years, Dune Messiah focuses on his struggles as a religious leader. A crisis of conscience develops after Paul leads the Fremen into a massive holy war that results in billions of deaths, forcing him to face guilt, grief, and remorse for his actions.
After the painstaking efforts that Lady Jessica made to guide Paul to the highest prominence, Dune Messiah finds Paul betrayed and antagonized by the Bene Gesserit as new rival houses, such as the Spacing Guild and the Tleilaxu, attempt to overthrow him. As Paul looks inward for answers on how best to atone for his past sins and bolster his moral leadership, he’s less reliant on his mother and father to become the hero Arrakis needs and must find the strength to live up to his role as Emperor.
Although Paul’s sister Alia does play a prominent role in Dune Messiah, Leto and Jessica Atreides are far less of a factor than they were in the original Dune novel. This is the primary reason why Rebecca Ferguson will be largely absent from Dune: Part 3. However, she has teased fans that Denis Villeneuve may have an ingenious way of giving her a more significant story arc.
Why Lady Jessica Will “Barely” be in ‘Dune: Part 3’, Explained
As Paul Atreides becomes Emperor Maud’Dib and learns the hard lessons of leadership, it makes sense that he does so on his own. Dune is nothing if not a coming-of-age hero’s journey, and it’s only right that Paul takes the wisdom imparted by Leto and Jessica and uses it to become his own person. As such, Leto and Lady Jessica have much smaller roles in Dune Messiah and are expected to have far less screen time in Dune: Part 3.
Ferguson recently spoke with IndieWire to promote her role in Kathryn Bigelow’s new thriller, House of Dynamite, and the subject of Dune: Part 3 was broached. Ferguson stated:
“I don’t have a big part in this one, [she’s] just barely in the book. I’m not sure I was supposed to be in it, and Denis had a little idea. The script is phenomenal. It’s really hard to create a film; it’s such a dense book. There’s so much to tell. [Denis] does dip in and out, and he does try, and he does want to have certain connections and tentacles to the book. Whatever Denis touches, I think, is phenomenal.”
While Ferguson did not explain how Villeneuve plans to dip in and out of the novel, or what his “little idea” is for Lady Jessica’s expanded role, it’s feasible to use flashbacks or flashforwards to give the character a larger story arc.
Of course, fans of the entire Dune series know that Lady Jessica returns for a much more substantial role in the follow-up book, Children of Dune. If Villeneuve does not condense the events of Herbert’s second and third books into one story for Dune: Part 3, it’s plausible that Lady Jessica will become the focal point of a Children of Dune adaptation. Of course, with the exorbitant production costs for Dune, Part 3 will have to prove successful enough to warrant another sequel first.