Once they had arrived on the planet, the Baron made use of a traitor among the Atreides, the Suk doctor Wellington Yueh, to sabotage them from within. Nonetheless, the plan began with the Emperor ordering the Atreides to move from their ancestral homeworld of Caladan to the planet Arrakis in order to take over the Spice-mining operation there. As always, however, the Baron intended to use the ensuing chaos as an opportunity to seize greater power. (23,352 A.D.) Baron Harkonnen and Emperor Shaddam IV devised a plan to rid themselves of the Atreides, the latter intending to remove Duke Leto as a threat before his popularity granted him the influence to usurp Shaddam, the former eager to end his feud with House Atreides in a final and decisive act of revenge. He was portrayed by the late Kenneth McMillan in the 1984 film, Ian McNeice in the 2000 Sci-Fi Channel miniseries, and Stellan Skarsgård in the 2021 film, who also played Jim Whitlock in Deep Blue Sea, Terry Glass in The Glass House, King Cerdic in King Arthur, Martin Vanger in the 2011 adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and The Grand Duke in the 2015 Disney live-action adaptation of Cinderella. He is also Lady Jessica’s father and the maternal grandfather of Paul Atreides and Alia Atreides, the children of his rival, Leto. He is also the uncle of Glossu 'The Beast' Rabban and Feyd-Rautha, who serve as his instruments in pursuit of universal domination, with Rabban acting as his brutal enforcer on Arrakis and Feyd being groomed to eventually take the Baron's place as the Head of House Harkonnen - and much more, should the Baron's plans come to fruition. A long-standing rival of House Atreides, the Baron is determined to bring about their end, with particular emphasis on seeing Duke Leto Atreides' humiliating defeat. He also serves as the main antagonist in films, which includes that of David Lynch's 1984 film adaptation, the 2000 miniseries adaptation, Denis Villeneuve's 2021 film adaptation, and will return in some capacity in it's 2023 sequel.Īs the Baron of House Harkonnen, he rules from his ancestral homeworld of Giedi Prime, exercising a tyrannical rule of exploitation and sadism over the lives of the slaves unfortunate enough to end up in the service of his House. (Dune, 2021)īaron Vladimir Harkonnen is the main antagonist of the original Dune saga, serving as the main antagonist of Frank Herbert's 1965 novel Dune (and its many adaptations) and the posthumous overarching antagonist of its 19 sequels Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. ~ Baron Harkonnen about getting rid of House Atreides. But Arrakis is Arrakis and the desert takes the weak. I said I would not harm them and I shall not. ~ Baron Harkonnen reveals his sinister plans. By the time the traitor is fully revealed, the fate of Atreides will already be sealed. They'll all be turning on another like rats in a flood. When I'm done with him, he won't know who to trust, not even that Bene Gesserit whore he sleeps with. A glorious winter is about to descend on House Atreides and all its heirs, and very soon, the years of humiliation visited upon my family will finally be avenged.Īlone and vunerable at the edge of the universe, Duke Leto Atreides will finally come face to face with fear. ~ Baron Harkonnen takes control to kill the Duke. However, the Duke will DIE BEFORE THESE EYES, and he'll know, HE'LL KNOW, that it is I, BARON VLADIMIR HARKONNEN, WHO ENCOMPASSES HIS DOOM!

I won't tell you who the traitor is, or when we'll ATTACK.

I will have Arrakis back for MYSELF! He who controls the SPICE controls the universe and what Piter did not tell you is we have control of someone who is very close, VERY CLOSE, to Duke Leto! This person, this TRAITOR, will be worth more to us THAN TEN LEIGONS OF SARDAUKAR!

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