Denis Villeneuve's upcoming Dune adaptation is set in a future where humanity has regressed to a feudal society as they colonized other worlds. Noble houses vie for control of resources-rich planets, none more so than the desert world Arrakis, also called Dune. Just prior to the story, the sinister House Harkonnen loses its fiefdom over Dune, forced to hand it over to its hated enemies, House Atreides.
Here is the breakdown of the major members of the villainous House Harkonnen and why the house is at odd with House Atreides:
Baron Vladimir Harkonnen
The Baron is the current head of his house and rules with cruelty that inspires fear in all his subjects. He is one of the most brilliant, devious and manipulative people in the universe. His homeworld, Geidi Prime, is a violent, brutalized planet littered with slave-pits. His family has ruled Dune for generations and losing it to his nemesis, Duke Leto Atreides, is an affront to his overwhelming ego.
For most of his house's existence, House Harkonnen has been viewed as lesser nobility, held in low esteem. The Baron has dedicated every ounce of his ambition towards the complete ascension of his family within the Imperium. The Baron is also aware the clock is ticking and he desperately wants to see his dreams come to fruition during his lifetime so that all would know it was he who accomplished this.
He’s been training his successor almost too well and fears his perceived physical limitations leave him more prone to assassination attempts. His immense frame is held up by a harness rigged with anti-gravitational suspensors, allowing him to walk upright in the books. But in his prior live-action adaptations depictions, the Baron flat-out levitates and hovers around, floating many feet off the ground.
Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen
Feyd-Rautha is the na-Baron, the legally recognized heir to House Harkonnen. He’s the Baron’s younger nephew and the result of a lifetime of training and grooming from his uncle. Feyd is self-centered, vain and heartless. He continually cheats to get ahead, no matter how many people must suffer, and is plenty comfortable with blood on his hands.
Feyd is a viper looking to strike. For every moment he spends appeasing his uncle, he schemes for ways to do away with him. Feyd-Rautha agrees with the Baron that he should rule House Harkonnen. He just disagrees with his uncle’s timeline.
In the novel, he’s Paul Atreides’ narrative foil; his dark reflection. Like Paul, he's a result of the millennia-long human breeding program run by the Sisterhood of the Bene Gesserit. Lady Jessica, Paul’s Bene Gesserit mother, chose to have him instead of the daughter she was ordered to. The union of Feyd to this daughter was planned to end their houses’ ancient feud and the son Feyd sired was hoped to be their long-awaited Kwisatz Haderach; an engineered prophet.
Glossu Rabban Harkonnen
Often referred to as simply “The Beast,” Rabban is the Baron’s elder nephew tasked with ruling Dune and squeezing every bit of Spice he can so his uncle could keep the Emperor pleased. A monster, Rabban is a butcher capable of atrocities without hesitation. He’s a massive brute compared to his thin, beautiful brother and the Baron sees him as too stupid to be used as anything but a blunt instrument.
The Baron is basically right. Glossu Rabban doesn’t do much other than oppressively rule over and occasionally murder his subjects on Dune. He’s all about getting that Spice. But he’s been outwitted for years by the Fremen, wild natives who live deep in the deserts, beyond his reach.
He’s not actually in too many scenes of the novel and his presence in previous live-action depictions is mostly quite limited. He’s more felt than seen, but his genocidal bloodlust has repercussions that manage to hit the hero, Paul, where he’s most vulnerable. From what the trailer has revealed of Dave Bautista in the role, it looks like Denis Villeneuve will be showing more of the Beast.
Piter DeVries
Piter is the Baron’s Master of Assassins. He’s a Twisted Mentat, a living computer, but not one trained at any of the Mentat schools. He was designed by Bene Tleilaxu, a faction of fringe geneticists. Some of the Great Houses would purchase Mentats that were altered for particularly disturbing and extreme qualities.
The Baron needed the ultimate hatchet-man, someone smart enough to keep up with him and knew how he liked to work. Piter is a psychopath who understands he’s only safe in the Baron's service until the moment he outlives his usefulness. It’s almost a sick kind of game between them. They both know that moment is approaching as Piter’s greed and ego are threatening the Baron. But Piter hopes he can claim a prize worthy of his genius before he and the Baron betray one another.
The Feud With House Atreides
The bitter feud between the House of Atreides and the House of Harkonnen goes back over ten thousand years to the time of the Butlerian Jihad, a war against all artificial intelligence and computational technology. Their enmity started because an Atreides openly accused a Harkonnen of cowardice during those devastating wars. Vendettas like this have become so ritualized in the Great Houses of Dune that they have their own word for it— kanly.
Duke Leto has personally freed many slaves in raids against Harkonnen worlds. His two most trusted and effective soldiers, Gurney Halleck and Duncan Idaho, were both rescued from Harkonnen rule and now swear absolute loyalty to the fair and inspiring Duke. The Baron has tried every form of sabotage and assassination possible. But the plan he enacts at the start of Dune is to be his masterstroke.
The Baron's Master Plan
Duke Leto suspects a trap when he is ordered by the Emperor to rule Dune with good cause. The Baron would never voluntarily cede control of Arrakis, the single source of the Spice and the most important world in the universe. His consistent output of Spice is the only thing that grants House Harkonnen some level of legitimacy and respect in the Imperium.
The Baron made a deal with the Emperor, a savvy politician who has become jealous and fearful of Duke Leto. The Emperor is covertly providing military forces, aiding the Baron in a siege against House Atreides. All of this hinges on the most devious piece of The Baron's plan. He's blackmailed a close advisor in House Atreides to be his agent, lowering the keep’s shields, ensuring that House Harkonnen can wipe out its enemy, gain favor with the Emperor and rule Dune uncontested, all in one fell swoop.