The two-part "Dune" movie experience is fast-paced and full of action. Its story also plays out within a matter of months, with minimal disruptions in the timeline as you go along. The sands barely shift between parts one and two, and the movie even skips right over a multi-year time jump at one point later in the story.

In author Frank Herbert's original writing, years go by during Paul's initial foray into the arid regions of Arrakis. In that time, along with becoming one of the Fremen brethren, he and Chani fall in love and have a child whom they name Leto II (after Paul's late father). Poor Leto isn't long for this world, though, as the baby is killed in a Saudaukar raid in a heartbreaking book subplot that was cut from "Dune: Part Two." While the omission of baby Leto II is obvious, the reasoning behind his...