Sandworms - The Gods of Dune Explained | Dune Lore

WARNING - VIDEO CONTAINS SPOILERS. DUNE AND EXPANDED DUNE ARE TAKEN AS SOURCE MATERIAL

Learn about Shai-hulud, the great sandworms of Dune in this lore video.

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Time Stamps:
0:00 - Intro
0:55 - Origin and Characteristics
4:56 - Life and Spice
9:10 - Role and Religion
16:04 - Outro

**I do not own the rights to any video footage used or artwork**

[jaythekid]

Only thing wrong here is its diet. They eat sand trout like whales eat krill. Sand trout burrow deep under the sand

[evanBryan]

honestly incredible how dune as a whole has become such a cultural phenomenon in 2024 when the original book was written even before starwars. such a rich story

[leegibson]

The books were always about human evolution. How our environment causes us to adapt. The sand worms and spice are sort of a cheat. They helped speed up our evolution. Dune and the worms made our bodies adapt. Spice was for our minds. In the books the Fremen were almost physically perfect. Their blood congealed faster. They were tireless. Perfect warriors.

[Milkra]

Fantasy has dragons, science fiction has giant desert worms.

[NRG]

They are Fungi. Mycelial networks are even made of tunes. It’s the Panspermia concept just adapted a bit.

[Xsiondu]

I've truly enjoyed your videos and greatly appreciate you breaking down this sand worm for me.

[themonolougist]

Amazing overview of these great divine beasts. Your voice is so soothing yet so informative!

[PerfectDark]

Please talk about the Bene Gesserit, The Voice, and more of Dune’s supernatural elements

[Flyboy]

Awesome subject. I just watched the new one the other day. I’ve only read the first book, so I’m not as steeped with arrakis lore as I am others. But it’s no less fascinating

[NRG]

Right from the beginning of Messiah I realized the Worms came from Ascended Masters. Even if the Guild began their biochemical cultivation of “spice technology” with more archaic practices…. It’s pretty blatant that “we are worms” kinda ties into Panspermia idea of Fungi creating all life on Earth. He even made the Spice the method of traversing space… just like Fungi travel in comets

[jeffabodeely]

Dude, you did great job explaining Dune

[TheTechDweller]

Why do sandworms go towards any form of vibrations if water is poison to them? Human beings are mostly water, isn't our blood poisonous to them?

[doctorrobz]

I would love to hear more about the religious part of Dune, the prophecy of the Fremen etc

[mencken]

They would indeed need to be gods, as on a planet as arid as Arrakis / Dune, this large number of gigantic creatures would have no means of existing except as supernatural beings, or life beyond our definition.

[kajtekmccranck]

Amazing video. I really enjoyed it! Pleas can you tell me what music piece did you use from the 12.20 minute? It's beautiful

[aidangamalieltayao]

The toy of the 80s sandworm scares me to this day. The sarlacc and krayt dragons would literally head for the hills.

[jmdesertadventures]

My question is, how did humans discover the spice melange if we didn't have the spice to make navigators? Unless arrakis and spice were discovered before the butlerian jihad, there's no way.

[willempasterkamp]

Basically the sandworm (a god ) = morky Crom, the desert variety of EL the sea-dragon or whale. Celestial it is Cetos or the great snake (serpent) handled by Ophiuchus (= Paul) .

[nathanhimmerich]

1. The sandworm doesn't eat sand, it basically filters it.

2. The bits that it filters out and consumes aren't generally sandtrout, they burrow too deep. They eat their sandplankton among other microscopic things. It is interesting that, while they can eat other things, they are not only cannibals, but eat their own young. These are super-sentient creatures, so that's pretty intense.

3. You mention at the end that the sandworm showed up in Earth, did you mean Arrakis? Earth isn't relevant in the Dune series. I remember them returning to Arrakis. I'm not 100% sure though.

4. It would be worth mentioning that they are exported to other planets for spice production and to "desertify" said planets. In this era, even aquatic 'sand'worms are created and utilized.

5. Leto II was the first merger with Shai Hulud, but not the last. A ghola of Duncan Idaho merged with Shai Hulud as well, and is probably why Leto II kept so many Duncans. Of course Leto II could see this conclusion and potential in Duncan, there's something 'divine' (in the Bene Gessrit eugenics sort of way) about them both.

[misapheonix]

Oh damn. . . After looking into the full history, it had me expecting some time travel shenanigans, with the worm's origins lol
It would explain why Villeneux made his worm stop right in front of Paul; their destinies are tied! They have waters of life as their blood vessels. They are aware of the future, more than sentient?