What Chani’s Blue Scarf Means In Dune 2 & What It Foreshadows
Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Dune: Part Two!
Summary
- Chani’s blue scarf in Dune 2 symbolizes her love for Paul, reflecting their evolving relationship and her true feelings.
- The scarf’s placement hints at Chani’s emotions – from head to arm – suggesting a shift in her love for Paul as the story progresses.
- The blue scarf may foreshadow Chani’s future, potentially teasing her pregnancy and raising questions about her relationship with Paul.
Chani wears a blue scarf throughout Dune: Part Two, and there is a deeper meaning behind the costume decision that provides more insight into her and Paul’s relationship and future. Zendaya had a relatively small role to play in 2021’s Dune, but the sequel adapting the second half of Frank Herbert’s book meant elevating her to a much larger position. Paul’s time with the Fremen allows the movie to give Chani much more to do, especially regarding showing their romance blossom. This means Dune 2 reveals more about Chani’s personality, style, and thinking as Paul becomes a villain.
One of the subtle developments shown for Chani in Dune 2 is the presence of a blue scarf that becomes a regular part of her look. The fashion accessory stands out due to Denis Villeneuve often focusing on its placement on Chani. It also helps that the blue scarf directly stands out from the Fremen’s typically dark suits and the sands of Arrakis. Dune 2 never explains the meaning of Chani’s blue scarf to viewers, though. The detail is pulled from a part of the book mythology, but the actual explanation is slightly different in the live-action adaptation.
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Chani’s Blue Scarf Is A Sign That She Loves Paul Atreides
Chani’s blue scarf in Dune 2 is the movie’s way of showing that she loves Paul. From the moment the scarf was glimpsed in marketing materials, it was thought to be the Nezhoni scarf from Frank Herbert’s Dune book. This has a specific meaning in the source material that the movie does not touch on. That is because Villeneuve confirmed that Dune 2 changed the meaning of Chani’s blue scarf for the purposes of the movie. He confirmed in The Art and Soul of Dune: Part Two (via Courtney Howard) that blue is worn “when Fremen women fall in love.”
The decision to make Chani’s scarf a symbol of her love for Paul makes it a much more important detail for the movie. Zendaya’s character does not wear the blue fabric until after she and Paul spend more time together. Dune 2 includes several sequences of them flirting and falling in love before putting an emphasis on the fact that Chani has added the scarf to her everyday attire. But, it being a symbol of her love for Paul is left unstated. This is why Chani does not have the blue scarf on her head in Dune‘s ending.
Chani Taking Off The Scarf In Dune 2’s Ending Teases Her True Feelings
Knowing the meaning of Chani’s scarf in the Dune universe makes her true feelings about Paul all the more clear in Dune 2‘s ending. When Chani first starts wearing the scarf, she wears it around her head. This is notably when she seemingly loves Paul the most. As he starts to make decisions she does not agree with, Chani moves the scarf down to her arm before the final battle. It is not confirmed that the placement on her arm has any deeper meaning in Fremen culture, but it could be a sign she’s falling out of love.
Whether Paul and Chani love each other becomes a bigger question by the film’s finale, as he suggests marrying Princess Irulan for power, leaving Chani to storm off and leave. This raised unanswered Dune 2 questions about what the future could hold for them and where their relationship currently stands. The fact that Chani does not have the blue scarf on in Dune 2‘s final shots is telling. By taking off the symbol that she is in love, Villeneuve’s movie quietly communicates that Chani does not feel love for Paul, at least at this moment.
Chani’s blue scarf in Dune 2 is significant for the future in that it could foreshadow that she and Paul are not together when Dune 3 takes place. This would be a departure from the source material, but Villeneuve’s decision to end Chani’s story in this fashion is no mistake. Leaving her alone in the desert with the scarf removed directly communicates her frustrations with Paul and the possibility that they might not end up together. However, the scarf’s book meaning might hold the key here.
Where Chani Goes At The End Of Dune 2 & What It Means For Dune 3
Chani’s decision to leave at the end of Dune: Part Two was shrouded in mystery, and it has massive implications for the future of the story.
Chani’s Blue Scarf Could Foreshadow That She Is Pregnant
The reason that Chani’s scarf was thought to be a big deal at first was due to the idea that it was Villeneuve bringing the Nezhoni scarf concept from the book to the movie. Herbert’s books noted that the blue Nezhoni scarf was worn by Fremen women who had newborn sons. While Chani and Paul’s first son is not born in Dune 2 due to the changed timeline, it is possible that the scarf also doubles for Villeneuve teasing the pregnancy. The movie does show Chani and Paul being intimate, but it is after she starts wearing the scarf.
It will now be up to Dune 3 to confirm if the theories that Chani is pregnant at the end of Dune 2 are correct or not. Even if Chani’s scarf is not meant to double as a tease that she is pregnant with Paul’s child in Dune 2, this is something that will come in the future. Chani and Paul’s children are important for the future of the franchise. There is no real way for Villeneuve to get around this development and do a proper Dune: Messiah adaptation. If Chani is pregnant in Dune: Part Two, perhaps that will be what brings her and Paul back together.
Source: Courtney Howard
