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The first teaser for Dune: Part Three is here, and among the many new elements it shows off, it introduces Robert Pattinson's enigmatic character Scytale, a key figure in the Dune mythos. But who is Scytale? And how does he play into the saga of Paul Atreides?
Dune has some of the densest, most expansive mythology of any sci-fi story, spanning thousands of years, hundreds of characters, and an entire lexicon of special terms, many of which apply to the extensive history of Scytale.
With that in mind, it can be tough to figure out exactly how every bit of lore pieces together, especially with a character like Scytale who has connections to many corners of the Dune universe. Fortunately, we've run down everything you need to know about Scytale below ahead of Dune: Part Three, but be warned, we'll be getting into spoilers for the Dune book series which may play into the movie.
Who is Scytale?
First and foremost, Scytale is what's known as a 'Face Dancer,' essentially a shapeshifter capable of taking on different forms and identities. Face Dancers are creations of the Bene Tleilax, a secretive religious cult based around genetic manipulation in pursuit of conquest, with the shapeshifters being one of their engineered lifeforms.
First appearing in Dune: Messiah, the second book in the series, Scytale himself gets involved with Paul Atreides as part of yet another conspiracy against the Muad'Dib and his revolution against the Padishah Emperor, this time in the form of sending a ghola - a physical clone of a dead person with none of their memories - of Paul's fallen ally Duncan Idaho to his side.
As it turns out, it's all part of a plan to find a method of restoring the memories and personality of the ghola in order to make the Bene Tleilax effectively immortal by constantly passing their minds down into newly reborn clone bodies.
The experiment does indeed result in a successful restoration of Duncan Idaho's ghola, which in turns leads to a confrontation between Scytale and Paul Atreides in which Paul winds up the victor. There's a lot more to their conflict, but digging too much deeper would require some very significant spoilers that will likely play directly into the film.
Scytale himself is later reborn, becoming one of the members of the ruling council of the Bene Tleilax, even winding up as one of the only surviving Bene Tleilax, carrying the genetic material of his order through space in a quest to restore them to life.
How does Scytale fit into Dune 3?
Dune: Part Three is largely based on Dune: Messiah, the book that introduces Scytale and includes the most relevant parts of his story. In that regard, we're expecting Dune 3's Scytale to fit into the plot in much the same way as the novel.
This is borne out by the presence of Jason Momoa's Duncan Idaho in the first trailer for Dune: Part Three, indicating that the concept of the ghola and Scytale's mission from the Bene Tleilax to restore Duncan's memories and unlock the secret of immortality will indeed be part of the film.
Along with glimpses of Scytale among the Fremen, and some key dialogue in the trailer from Paul Atreides and Chani, it's looking quite a bit like director Denis Villeneuve is staying close to the core of Dune: Messiah.
While we'll continue to refrain from going too deep into spoilers, it's safe to say that Scytale's involvement in Dune: Part Three will have ramifications across the film, with some particularly ominous consequences for Chani and Paul that may change the course of the entire story.
Dune 3 arrives in theaters on December 18. In the meantime, check out our guide to this year's other most exciting upcoming movies.
