Spoilers are ahead for Dune: Part Two.
Summary
- Lady Margot, played by Léa Seydoux, is a member of the powerful Bene Gesserit order.
- Lady Margot's role in Dune: Part Two involves Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, as the Bene Gesserit want to secure his genetic material for their breeding program.
- Lady Margot becomes pregnant with the late Feyd's daughter, which has huge implications for Dune 3.
Played by Léa Seydoux (No Time to Die), Lady Margot Fenring made her debut in Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part Two. Although Lady Margot plays a much larger role in Prelude to Dune, she does feature in Frank Herbert's 1965 novel. The Bene Gesserit agent is crucial to Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam's (Charlotte Rampling) plot to secure the Harkonnen bloodline in the wake of House Atreides' apparent extinction. While Lady Margot's screentime in Dune: Part Two is rather limited, Seydoux makes a real impact — on both viewers and the epic saga's overall plot.
Lady Margot isn't the only new character to appear in the second installment of Villeneuve's epic adaptation. Florence Pugh (Midsommar) ed the cast as Princess Irulan. Like Lady Margot, Irulan's role in Dune 2 differs a bit from the source material, but it's clear that Villeneuve is using his impressive ensemble to lay the foundation for a third film. While Dune: Part Two adapts the second chunk of Herbert's original novel, the seemingly imminent Dune 3 will pull from the sequel novel, Dune Messiah. Given Dune 2's biggest differences from the book, Lady Margot's role, however small, feels more substantial.
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Lady Margot Is Another Member Of The Bene Gesserit
In the world of Dune, Lady Margot is a member of the Bene Gesserit, a matriarchal order that's amassed great power and influence over the known universe by gently guiding humanity in a direction that best aligns with their aims. By inserting themselves into various social and political groups, the Bene Gesserit ensure that they have sway wherever needed. of the order, including Lady Margot Fenring, also undergo years of physical and mental conditioning to obtain superhuman powers, such as the ability to control others (The Voice) or control their internal organs and body chemistry, among several other powers.
Bene Gesserit sisters subtly manipulate bloodlines by "collecting" the genes they require.
The latter of those abilities is particularly useful in relation to the called the Kwisatz Haderach. This being — essentially a male Bene Gesserit — will have clairvoyance across time and space. That said, the Bene Gesserit sisters subtly manipulate bloodlines by "collecting" the genes they require. In Herbert's Dune, Lady Margot is tasked with seducing Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (Dune 2's Austin Butler). Despite her other allegiances, Lady Margot puts the Bene Gesserit goals first.
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Lady Margot's Dune 2 Role Explained
A big part of Lady Margot's story in the original Dune novel revolves around House Harkonnen. In particular, Lady Margot is tasked with securing the family's bloodline by seducing the villainous Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen's (Stellan Skarsgård) sadistic nephew. Although Princess Irulan, who also has Bene Gesserit ties, believes that Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) is alive, the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam doesn't want to risk the breeding program's future on a baseless belief. At the command of Mohiam, Lady Margot attends Feyd's birthday celebration, tests him with the Gom Jabbar, and "secures" his genetic material.
Released on March 1, Dune: Part Two is now playing in theaters worldwide.
In Herbert's novel, Lady Margot also plays a role earlier on. The Bene Gesserit agent is the one who initially warns Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac), Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), and Paul that House Atreides is in grave danger. However, that plot point was cut from the first film, likely to streamline the story. While Princess Irulan is the one in Dune: Part Two who suspects Paul is still alive on Arrakis, this role falls to Lady Margot in the book. That said, the character's connection to House Atreides isn't a prominent part of Dune 2.
Léa Seydoux Plays Lady Margot In Dune 2
In Dune 2, Léa Seydoux plays Lady Margot. Of course, the project is far from her first big-name blockbuster film role. Although Seydoux first rose to international acclaim with the Palme d'Or-winning Blue Is the Warmest Color, she has gone on to secure roles in action films, including Mission: Impossible–Ghost Protocol and two James Bond films — Spectre and No Time to Die. Even with an impressive roster of projects to her name, Dune 2 is one of Léa Seydoux's best movies.
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How Dune 2's Lady Margot Compares To The Books
Since Lady Margot Fenring was cut from the first Dune film, her role does differ a bit from that of her book counterpart. The character's connection to House Atreides is virtually nonexistent in the 2024 adaptation. Instead, she remains true to her novel depiction by being closely aligned with the Bene Gesserit and, to some extent, Emperor Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken). Although Léa Seydoux's Lady Margot doesn't boast the book character's oddly styled red hair, she does follow the Reverend Mother's commands to a "T." After attending Feyd's murder-spree birthday celebration, Lady Margot corners the Baron's heir apparent.
...the Harkonnen heir could be instrumental to the Bene Gesserit scheme.
Even though Irulan believes Paul Atreides survived the massacre on Arrakis, the Reverend Mother insists on securing alternative bloodlines and paths to power. As a result, she decides that Lady Margot should see what kind of person Feyd is, as the Harkonnen heir could be instrumental to their scheme. Before seducing Feyd, Lady Margot forces him to stick his hand in the same pain-inducing box that Paul was forced to withstand in Dune: Part One. In addition to securing Feyd's child — a daughter, just as the Reverend Mother commanded — Margot deduces that Feyd enjoys pain.
Dune 2's Post-Credits Scene Happened 45 Minutes Before The Credits Began
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Why Lady Margot Becomes Pregnant With Feyd-Rautha's Daughter
After the Fremen raids on spice production, Baron Harkonnen considers replacing his nephew, Rabban, with his younger nephew, Feyd-Rautha. A lover of knives, the sadistic Feyd-Rautha kills House Atreides prisoners for fun on his birthday — a wonderful gift from his uncle. Meanwhile, Lady Margot Fenring is sent by the Bene Gesserit to evaluate Feyd. With Paul Atreides presumed dead, the Reverend Mother is curious about Feyd's suitability as the Kwisatz Haderach. Perhaps more importantly, Lady Margot is instructed to seduce Feyd, secure his genes, and ensure the resulting child is a daughter.
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In Dune 2's ending, Paul kills Feyd-Rautha in a one-on-one knife fight. While Paul looks to be the Bene Gesserit's foretold superbeing (and the Fremen messiah), the Harkonnen bloodline didn't end on Arrakis. Lady Margot confirms that she's pregnant with Feyd's daughter, just as the Bene Gesserit planned. Not only does the child ensure the Harkonnen genes will live on, but the plot point has huge implications for Dune 3, especially since the unborn Alia Atreides, Paul's sister, will be about the same age as the daughter Feyd and Lady Margot conceived in Dune: Part Two.
