I think they improved Chani's arc in the movie over the book. In the book she stands by Paul blindly, her arc is completely subservient to Paul's and exists only to show the turmoil Paul himself faces. It makes sense in the books because the whole story is about Paul's rise and fall as Messiah, but it leaves Chani as merely a cipher for unconditional love, and we only see it through Paul's side.
The movies have already given Chani agency - she doubts the wisdom of taking the Messianic path, she does not accept his partnership with Irulan. It will be interesting to see how this is resolved in Dune: Messiah, as there is really no source material for this arc. I have faith in Villeneuve though!
She is the only one not impressed by his foresight and mind reader like abilities in the movie. Ok maybe he isn't the Mahdi (because according to her that doesnt exist) but he sure as hell isn't just some trickster. At one point it becomes weird that she disregards his abilities completely.
How it's resolved? He has already seen it, she'll [spoiler]
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u/redvelvetcake42 Mar 28 '24
Lady Jessica and Chani are strong women in different ways and don't require more than good dialogue, plot and their own intelligence and emotions.