Dune 3 Can’t Work Without Finally Revealing This Hidden Power

The upcoming Dune Messiah film should not shy away from one of the most important concepts from the books, especially having left that concept unattended in the first two movies. Denis Villeneuve’s third Dune project is the most anticipated sci-fi sequel in recent memory, and one mystery element must be unlocked to let the trilogy reach its full potential.

Adapting Frank Herbert’s iconic sci-fi novels to the screen was undoubtedly a difficult test for Villeneuve. Regardless, he passed with flying colors, as evident from the critical and commercial success of Dune: Part One and Part Two. However, some of the book’s ardent fans often point out that the filmmaker strayed away from the source material at times and did not include some key elements. One in particular is just as significant as the spice — probably even more so — and makes the whole universe function.

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Will Dune Messiah Finally Show The Navigators?

Denis Villeneuve Can’t Hide The Spacing Guild Anymore

For Dune fans who have just watched the two movies released so far, the Spacing Guild and the strange Navigators who steer their starships may not ring a bell. However, they hold a lot of value in Dune lore, not just in the original novels but also in the expanded books by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Simply put, space travel in Dune wouldn’t exist without the Spacing Guild. The group has controlled space travel for 10,000 years, and without it, the Imperium wouldn’t function since trade between worlds depends on their approval.

With Dune Messiah aiming to shoot sooner than expected this summer, it’s about time Denis Villeneuve explored the Spacing Guild and the Navigators in full. Fans have been eager to get a glimpse of the Navigators, and if Villeneuve wants to stay true to the book, the third film can’t work without them, as they are essential to the story. Speaking to TheWrap magazine in January 2025, Villeneuve shared his desire to start shooting Dune Messiah right away:

Did Dune: Part One Already Show a Navigator?

The Navigators have already made a blink-and-miss appearance in the first Dune film. During the Ceremony of Change for House Atreides, representatives from the Spacing Guild are seen in Caladan, wearing white suits with orange visors. However, going by the book, they don’t seem to be fully formed Guild Navigators, as they still appear human-shaped and are likely in the transition process.

How Villeneuve Might Depict Them

Fans expect Villeneuve’s live-action depiction of a Navigator to resemble the heptapod aliens from Arrival — as vague human shapes floating in a tank. In fact, given Villeneuve’s love for the Dune novels, the Navigators may have even inspired his vision for his 2016 sci-fi classic. Moreover, the same Academy Award-winning production designers behind Arrival are also responsible for designing both the sandworms and the Navigators in Dune.

What Is The Spacing Guild In Dune?

Dune Messiah Expands The Spice’s Power

Avoiding the Spacing Guild and the Navigators in the first two movies allowed for a more streamlined narrative. Introducing them in Dune Messiah, meanwhile, would show how the rest of the empire conspires against Paul Atreides. The third film provides more room to explore the Guild’s role within the Imperium. Even in the original Dune novel, the Spacing Guild is introduced, but not much is revealed about them.

However, as the series continues, readers learn about their significance and how they control the political and economic dynamics of the empire. Under CHOAM, the Guild partners with the Padishah Emperor, the Great Houses, and the Bene Gesserit. They use massive starships called Highliners, which enable interstellar travel. However, these ships’ engines cannot navigate safely through space on their own, and require Navigators for this purpose.

How Is Space Travel Possible In Dune?

Guild Navigators Depend On Spice

The Navigators of the Spacing Guild consume large amounts of spice melange to gain a limited form of prescience. This allows them to foresee obstacles in space and safely guide ships. Due to their continuous spice usage, Navigators evolve into marine-like beings. They have webbed hands and feet, and remain submerged in tanks filled with spice gas. In truth, the Guild and the Navigators serve no one except the spice.

Dune Messiah is expected to introduce Guild Navigators like Edric, who plays a crucial role in the plot against House Atreides. In the book, he is described as an elongated, vaguely humanoid figure with fin-like feet, swimming in a tank of orange gas. It will be fascinating to see Villeneuve’s vision for these characters, and how it compares to their representation in David Lynch’s Dune adaptation from 1984.

The Spacing Guild’s Power Struggle

The Spacing Guild’s origins date back to the time of the Butlerian Jihad. After machine intelligence was outlawed, humanity had to find a new way to navigate space and enable interstellar travel. As a result, the Guild emerged alongside other organizations such as the Bene Gesserit, the Mentat Order of human computers, and the Suk Medical School. Over time, the Spacing Guild became entirely dependent on spice — and, by extension, the planet Arrakis.

Before Navigators existed, one in every ten ships never reached its destination. Canonically, at the end of the Dune novel, Paul uses their spice dependency to his advantage, manipulating the Guild to secure victory over the Emperor. In the book, two early-stage Navigators try to negotiate with Paul, but he completely disregards them. This could have even worked as a Marvel-style post-credits scene to build up to Dune Messiah.

Dune: Part Three

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  Timothée Chalamet

  Paul Atreides

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