Paul Atreides
Paul Atreides (; 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. 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." 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. Chalamet is confirmed to reprise the role in the upcoming sequel film, Dune: Part Three (2026).
150th, Pt. 1
- 2022-01-07T00:00:00.000000Z
High Pulse
- 2025-03-31T00:00:00.000000Z
Dream
- 2024-12-20T00:00:00.000000Z
Skynet
- 2024-10-04T00:00:00.000000Z
Psychic Rush
- 2024-08-23T00:00:00.000000Z
5 Hands Gang
- 2022-09-16T00:00:00.000000Z
Ex Machina EP
- 2022-07-22T00:00:00.000000Z
Downpour
- 2022-04-15T00:00:00.000000Z
Phantoms EP
- 2021-07-27T00:00:00.000000Z
Rave Science
- 2021-07-23T00:00:00.000000Z
Sonar Galaxy
- 2021-05-21T00:00:00.000000Z
Neuromancer
- 2020-12-15T00:00:00.000000Z
Similar Artists