In Herbert’s eye, the ascent to power over Dune is also, perhaps ironically, a fall as well. In Villeneuve’s film, Paul’s fate is full of portent and potential. He has been trained to fight by a private coach, trained in mystical arts by the witchlike Bene Gesserit nuns, and trained in diplomacy by his father, a rich duke. He is presented as a peerless Golden Child archetype, and even given a dark mirror rival in the form of Feyd, the wicked nephew of Baron Harkonnen. If he has an evil twin, then Paul must be good. Over the course of the novels, however, Paul will instigate a jihad that will slaughter billions. His son, Leto II, will eventually evolve into a tyrannical half sandworm. 

At the start of the story, though, Paul need be little more than capable and perhaps mildly brooding. He needs to be intense, able to fight, and perhaps seem a little out of his element. For the 2021 film, Villeneuve needed an actor that had the potential of evolving into a violent dictator, but was also an appealing teenager that an audience may be interested in watching. He settled on Timothée Chalamet, who entered into negotiations for the role in 2018, shortly after the release of his acclaimed romance film “Call Me By Your Name” and coming-of-age drama “Lady Bird.” 

To Villeneuve, Chalamet embodied Paul so perfectly, there would be no “Dune” without him. Villeneuve said as much to the Hollywood Reporter in November of 2021:

“It sounds dramatic, but I don’t know if we would be here today talking if Timothée had said no. I mean, there was no plan B. But it’s nice to make radical choices like that and say, ‘It’s either him or nothing.'”