Warning: the following contains SPOILERS for Dune.


Padishah Emperor in 2021's Dune allowed the Atreides to be slaughtered on Arrakis – so why does the Emperor hate House Atreides and favor House Harkonnen? Understanding the way the Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV treats the most powerful noble houses in the Imperium entails looking at Dune’s 20,000-year timeline, which begins at our current and present time: the events in Dune 2021 occur at the end of this timeline, while in the middle — around 10,000 years in the future, which in the books is 1 A.G (After Guild) — the rule of House Corrino began.

In Dune 2021, the 81st Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV is under pressure to maintain House Corrino’s 10,000-year rule. Although the Emperor doesn’t appear in the movie, he is discussed by several characters, revealing his hand in the plot. This means that in Dune 2021, much like in the books, the Emperor has several reasons for hating House Atreides.

Dune’s House Atreides is the most likely noble house to threaten the 10,000-year legacy of House Corrino. The Atreides are well-respected throughout the Known Universe and has good relations with most of the other great houses apart from the Harkonnens. This threatens the Emperor’s iron-fisted rule over the Imperium. Moreover, it’s also well known that House Atreides’ military forces are equal in skill, and in some cases, even superior to the Sardaukar, House Corrino’s elite army. That being said, the Atreides forces are nowhere near the size of the Sardaukar, and this presented a strategic opportunity for the Emperor to take out a potentially superior military force.


In comparison, while House Harkonnen’s sheer wealth rivals even the Emperor’s, their military poses no threat to House Corrino, and their reputation for brutality makes them hated by the other great houses. It’s not that the Emperor hates the Atreides and prefers the Harkonnens. Both houses threaten House Corrino’s rule in their own way. House Atreides was just a much bigger threat to the Emperor than House Harkonnen.

Moreover, the Bene Gesserit were also played a hand in sealing the fate of House Atreides: After Lady Jessica gave birth to Paul, in defiance of Bene Gesserit orders to bear a daughter, she turned the Duke’s son into an aberrant Kwisatz Haderach that could potentially threaten – instead of help – the centuries-long machinations of the sisterhood. Although Paul’s genes are still worth saving, as he is just one generation short of the Bene Gesserit’s plans of ushering in the true Kwisatz Haderach, Duke Leto was no longer of use to them. Meanwhile, Leto’s advisor, the Mentat Thufir Hawat, was a threat to the secrecy of the sisterhood’s plans. It was in the Bene Gesserit’s best interests to feed the Emperor’s fears about House Atreides, which they did through the Imperial Truthsayer, the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam.

Dune’s Padishah Emperor was never shown in Dune: Part One, which adapted just first the half of the book. It’s likely that Emperor Shaddam IV of House Corrino will finally be revealed in Dune: Part Two, which will tackle the second half of Herbert’s celebrated sci-fi masterpiece. Whether or not the Emperor finally shows up in the reboot, Warner Bros. has announced that Dune: Part Two will be coming to theaters on October 20, 2023.

Dune 2 (2023)
Release Date: Oct 20, 2023