Dune 2: Why is this important character missing from the first film?

After seeing Dune 2 in theaters, you may have wondered where the relatively important character of the first opus, Tufir Havati, went? Actor Stephen McKinkey Henderson, Tufir was a “mentate” of House Atreides.

Mentat refers to a class of Imperium citizens trained in higher logic. They are also called “human computers” (computers are banned in Dune’s world, replaced by order of the Mentat).

They are trained to use observation and reasoning skills to an extreme level. In this way, they can infer from a few pieces of information the entire environmental context that surrounds them.

Captured by the villainous Baron Harkonnen in the first film, Tufir does not appear in Dune 2, although he should logically still be alive. In the novel, he becomes Vladimir Harkonnen’s new mentee after his death, Peter.

Davit Dastmalchiani performed this character in the first Duna. Baron manages to keep Havati at bay with the help of residual venom. If a mentat leaks, it will die very quickly without the proper antidote.

Why was Tufir kicked out?

Why was Tufir Havati cut during editing by Denis Villeneuve in the second episode of Dune? The Canadian director gave an explanation on the microphoneEntertainment Weekly.

“I loved Thufir Hawat. He’s a character I really like. But I had to make a bold choice to adapt the more focused Bene Gesserit by focusing the film on this sorority. I wish there was no more Thufir Hawat.”emphasizes the director.

Actor Stephen McKinkey Henderson shot the footage, but Denis Villeneuve unfortunately had to cut it. It was difficult for the filmmaker to reach this end.

A painful choice

“Tufir Havati is one of the most painful adaptation choices I’ve had to make”, he confides. Indeed, to give more weight to the order of Bene Gesserit, the Canadian decided to expel the Mentat.

on the podcast microphone This is PurdueSteven McKinkey Henderson has confirmed filming scenes with Austin Butler (Fade-Rauta) and Tim Blake Nelson. The latter was also cut during editing; He played another Mentat, Count Hasimir Fenring, husband of Margot Fenring (Léa Seydoux).

“He’s a really nice person. He’s a nice guy, and he and Tim are both great people. They play important antagonists in the movie, so it was great to see them behind the camera. Austin has been so good to me, I really appreciate that.”Stephen McKinkey Henderson said.

When it’s dead, it’s dead

And don’t expect to one day see these sequences in DVD bonus or extended versions, Denis Villeneuve has completely ruled out that possibility.

“Sometimes I cut scenes and I’m like, ‘I can’t believe I’m going to get this out.’ I killed him. When he’s dead, he’s dead, and for good reason.”he argued.