But with Pugh’s take, Dune: Part Twocan do something with this pivotal character that we never really thought possible: Demonstrate Irulan’s agency prior to her actually meeting Paul. In 20, Cox imbued Irulan with a much more present-tense role rather than the past-tense (or future tense?) that she tends to occupy in our minds. In Dune Messiah, her best moment - when she turns from being a conspirator against Paul to actually loving him – happens off-stage, mentioned by Alia to Duncan. We don’t see her writing her books in the first novel because those come from later in her life.

Instead, what’s odd about Irulan in the first three novels ( Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune) is that most of the cool stuff Irulan does is “off camera,” so to speak.

This isn’t to say Frank Herbert denies Irulan agency. Cox was, without a doubt, the most fleshed-out version of Irulan, and certainly, granted a larger role than the character has in the book. Pugh is the third actress to play Irulan, following Madsen in 1984, and Julie Cox, who played the character in both the 2000 miniseries Frank Herbert’s Duneand the sequel miniseries Children of Dune. As far as the canon of the original novels is concerned, Irulan eventually writes at least 15 books, and many of those are about the events of the first novel. What we don’t see in the trailer are the two things that will define her future - she’ll become the legal wife of Paul, and, more importantly, the chronicler of his entire story. In the new trailer for Dune: Part Two, we see Irulan recording her notes about whether or not Paul Atreides is still alive on Arrakis. It’s been 20 years since we’ve seen Princess Irulan preparing to do the thing she’s so good at - writing actual books in the Dune universe. As Princess Irulan, Florence Pugh will make her mark on what is possibly the most complicated and pivotal character in all of Dune. Dune: Part Two will feature several characters who did not appear in Dune: Part One, and perhaps the most prominent is the person who will make sure that the story of Muad’Dib survives for all time. A beginning is a most delicate time - especially if you’re about to become the most famous historian in all of galactic history.

Doone novel