Summary

• Paul Atreides' rule results in 61 billion deaths, making him both hero and villain in the early Dune novels.
• Leto II Atreides, Paul's son, imposes a stricter rule leading to devastating famine, suring Paul's reign in casualties.
• Despite the massive death toll, both emperors believed their actions served a greater purpose in ensuring humanity's survival.

Paul Atreides' successful ascent to the imperial throne marks the dramatic climax of protagonist and villain of the early Dune novels.

The groundwork for Paul's deadly rule is laid in both Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two. When he first enters the desert after the Harkonnen attack on Arrakeen, his exposure to spice allows him to glimpse a vision of "fanatical legions" spreading across the galaxy, slaughtering anyone who potentially stands in his way. Likewise, Dune: Part Two tease the darkness that will follow should he head south into the deep desert and drink the Water of Life. However, while both movies make the consequences of his premiership clear, neither addresses the exact number of people Paul Atreides kills.

Paul Atreides' War Kills Around 61 Billion People In Dune

The devastating impact Paul's reign has on the Dune universe is properly explained in Frank Herbert's follow-up to the original Dune book, Dune Messiah. With Paul ruling as emperor from Arrakis, the story explains how his Fremen forces – now the deadliest fighters in the Dune universe, have spread across his empire just as his visions predicted. The novels explain that 90 worlds were "sterilized", with 40 different religions wiped out and 500 more planets suppressed. The result is that 61 billion people across the galaxy have been killed either directly by Paul's forces or as collateral damage.

...Paul is not simply motivated by a selfish desire for power.

One of the key themes of Dune Messiah is that Paul himself is not directly responsible for 61 billion deaths – rather, the death toll is a result of misplaced religious fervor. As a prescient emperor, he chooses to follow this course in the full knowledge that it would lead to such suffering, laying the 61 billion deaths firmly at his door. However, the situation is made more complicated by the suggestion that 61 billion is a price worth paying, as humanity's fate could ultimately be even worse.

Unbeknownst to most other characters in Dune, Paul is not simply motivated by a selfish desire for power. In fact, he has deliberately chosen this path – despite the knowledge of the destruction it will bring – as he knows that there are other potential futures that could end up destroying the human race. Although 61 billion lives is a shocking sacrifice, it is, as Paul sees it, part of a greater plan to keep humanity from total self-immolation.

How Many People Live In Dune's Known Universe?

While Frank Herbert's Dune novels are specific about the scale of human death following Paul's holy war, the books are less clear about exactly what percentage of the total population this constitutes. While some planet populations are given, the Known Universe is so vast that Herbert could not feasibly give details for every individual system. However, through estimation, it is possible to get some idea of how widespread humanity is in Herbert's vision.

The Imperium Paul rules over constitutes around 10,000 individual planets. On Arrakis alone there are an estimated 15,000,000 people, with 10,000,000 Fremen living in the deep desert away from Arrakeen. If this scale was replicated across the whole galaxy, the total human population in the empire would be 150 billion.

However, Arrakis is undoubtedly one of the least populous planets in the Imperium, due to its hostile climate. If it's assumed that an average of 3 billion people live on each planet (approximately the population of Earth at the time Herbert wrote the novel), the total human population of the empire would be in the trillions. At this scale, 61 billion deaths could equate to between 2-5% of the total human population – still devastating, but not as apocalyptic an event as something like the Black Death in medieval Europe (which killed 30-50% of the population).

Paul's Rule Isn't The Worst Thing That Happens To Humanity In Dune

Considering the amount of death, it's easy to assume that Paul's reign as emperor is the most devastating episode in human history in the Dune universe. However, while the religious fervor was explosive, it was arguably not as terrible as the fallout from the rule of Paul's son, Leto II Atreides. As God-Emperor, Leto II imposed strict centralized rule on his empire, stripping away any planetary autonomy. Not only did this result in a 3,500-year-long repressive regime, but Leto II's death at the end of God Emperor Of Dune led to a devastating famine that ravaged the galaxy, killing many more than Paul's Jihad.

The combination of Paul's holy war and Leto II Atreides' reign seems, on the surface, a dark period in human history. However, despite the scale of the suffering, both emperors were aware that their actions were in aid of something greater. The decisions taken by Paul and Leto II were actually part of a so-called "Golden Path" that would ensure humanity's ultimate survival. The intention – especially of Leto II – was to teach humanity such a severe lesson that it would never again follow false prophets and messiahs and would finally become truly free, instead of atrophying. The damage was horrific, but it was a worthy sacrifice.

How Will Dune 3 Handle Kill Paul Killing So Many People?

Dune's universe is so big that it's likely impossible for any book or film to effectively convey the scale of the slaughter in Paul's war. Any attempt to show individual battles or massacres will just make isolated events feel insignificant compared to the overall 61 billion figure. As a result, it's likely that Dune 3 will take a similar approach to Frank Herbert's novel and only refer to the death toll in ing.

By not showing the full horror, Herbert succeeds in making Paul seem even more isolated and remote.

Despite the galactic scope of the novel, Messiah is actually quite small in its setting. Most of the action takes place in and around Paul's palace in Arrakeen, making it feel much more claustrophobic than the original Dune – a deliberate choice used to convey the oppressive weight of Paul's responsibilities as emperor. As a result, the 61 billion figure provides a crucial backdrop to the action. By not showing the full horror, Herbert succeeds in making Paul seem even more isolated and remote. If Dune 3 takes this approach, the movie will be much more subtle than Dune: Part Two, but perhaps noless effective as a result.