The world ofDunehas more shadowy organizations than a spy franchise. From the mysterious Bene Gesserit order to the feudal lords of the great houses, there are so many schemers, underhanded rogues, and generally unsavory groups inFrank Herbert’s book series that it honestly can be a little overwhelming. However, one of the most memorable of these factions has barely had its chance to shine inDenis Villeneuve’sfilms, this being the Spacing Guild. Although they are featured in a brief scene in the first movie,the Spacing Guild has yet to play a major role in the movie adaptations.This will likely change in Villeneuve’s third installment, as the Guild begins to become far more involved in the story after the first book. Still, even in the first book, the Guild is a constant reminder of how important and dangerous the desert world of Arrakis is to the galaxy.
The Spacing Guild in ‘Dune’ Is a Biting Commentary on Monopolies
Frank Herbert was always a writer of excess. Herbert crammed countless ideas into his books, from musings on fanatical religion, to warnings of environmental decay, and political corruption. The Spacing Guild is directly tied to what is Herbert’s most enduring narrative device,the spice Melange. Spice has often been analyzed asHerbert’s version of oil in theDuneuniverse. The precious substance holds major sway on the economics of the entire empire, and without it,the entire structure of society would literally fall apart. This is, in part, because of the Spacing Guild.
‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Has an Unlikely Connection to One of the Year’s Top Blockbusters
Lydia and Astrid should have tried the sandwalk.
The Guild uses the spice to give them the ability to see into the future, and uses that precognition to chart faster than light space travel to other planets. The Spacing Guild’s highly trained navigators are purposefully trained to be the only people in the universe capable of making such a journey and, because of this specialization, the Guild has created a seemingly unbreakable monopoly on space travel. This makes the Guild a powerful group, as anyone who directly opposes them would simply have their entire planet’s economy destroyed. The Guild is the only way for universe-wide trade to exist, and without it, civilization would literally collapse. They hold no official power in the empire, none of the Guild’s higher ups are royalty, and they don’t seem to have a powerful military. However,this stranglehold they have on every aspect of life in the universe gives them far more power than any conventional strength.
This draws clear parallels to giant oil corporations from real life that are essential to most of the world for power, manufacturing and countless other products and services.Throughout history, these corporations have leveraged their essential assets for control and influence,and it is clear that Herbert wrote the Spacing Guild as a critique on this very practice. The Guild is essentially Herbert’s version of a mega corporation,like Weyland Yutani from the Alien franchise. A completely out of control economic monster that perfectly satirizes the shortsighted resource exploitation of the real world.
Denis Villeneuve Needs To Embrace the Spacing Guild in ‘Dune: Part Three’
WithDune 3being confirmed to be in the works by Villeneuve, it will be interesting to see how the Guild’s role will be expanded. By the end ofDune: Part 2,Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) has usurped Emperor Corrino (Christopher Walken) and begun his holy war for dominance over the universe. In the second book of the series,Dune Messiah,with spice completely under Arteides' control, the Spacing Guild has no choice but to bend to Paul’s demands. However, after Paul’s holy war is finished, there’s a good chance Villeneuve will finally show us one of the most compelling storylines involving the Spacing Guild.
Unless Villeneuve is diverging heavily from the books (something unlikely to happen given his reverence to the source material), the bulk ofDune: Part Threewill involve a joint conspiracy by the Bene Gesserit, The Spacing Guild, and several other mysterious factions to end the Atreides' empire. Hopefully, this means audiences will get to see a horrifying design for the Guild Navigators. Navigators are genetically modified humans that look far more like aliens than people. For all its faults,David Lynch’s 1984Dunehad an incredibly memorable scene with a Guild navigator. If done right,the Guild’s presence in the third Villeneuve film will be just as memorable, if not more, and it will give audiences a better understanding of the thematic weight spice holds in Herbert’s story. It is a resource so precious that people are turned into monstrous creatures just to utilize it.
A noble family becomes embroiled in a war for control over the galaxy’s most valuable asset while its heir becomes troubled by visions of a dark future.
Duneis available to watch on Max in the U.S.
WATCH ON MAX
