Dune Concept Art of Unused Baron Harkonnen Design Is Even More Terrifying

The original concept art for Dune villain Baron Harkonnen looks very different. Dune, which opened in theaters last weekend, is the newest adaptation of the legendary Frank Herbert science fiction novel of the same name. The sprawling epic, which is about the young son of a noble house learning to face his pain while insurrection foments on the desert planet of Arrakis, stars Timothée Chalamet, Javier Bardem, Dave Bautista, Josh Brolin, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, and Zendaya, along with Rebecca Ferguson.

Baron Vladimir Harkonnen is played by Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård. The character uses a series of suspensor belts to nullify gravity and allow him to float. The Baron is the former steward of Arrakis, surreptitiously pulling the strings in an attempt to end House Atreides, to which the film’s heroes belong. Although this is not revealed in the first film, he is also the father of Ferguson’s Lady Jessica, the mother of Chalamet’s Paul Atreides. Baron Harkonnen is also the master of a creepy pet that nobody seems to be able to properly identify.

On his Instagram, concept artist Jerad S.Marantz shared the original design. Marantz, who has also worked on major MCU projects like Avengers: Endgame and the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home, as well as creating monsters for horror projects like The Bye Bye Man and Lovecraft Country, has combined his skills for popcorn movie spectacle and horror movie menace in this design. In the image, Harkonnen looms over his throne, an impossibly tall and broad presence who overwhelms the setting much like Supreme Leader Snoke in The Last Jedi. Check out the post below:

Click Here to View the Original Post

This design is solely of the body of the character before costume designers Kurt and Bart applied their hands to it, which explains his lack of clothing. In the final product, they ended up opting for a black tunic with a row of buttons up the center. This costume excels at accentuating the sheer height of the redesigned character.

Dune certainly has found a way for the Baron to be a credible menace even with the current design for the character. There are a lot of ways for Dune 2, which was recently greenlit, to utilize his character and harness the imperious energy he displays in these original designs. The character is one of the most interesting and layered in the Dune universe, and it will be interesting to see how the next film brings the rest of the story to life.

Source: Jerad S. Marantz

About The Author