Editing List of Dune characters (section)

=== Leto I Atreides ===
{{Infobox character
| name         = Leto I Atreides
| series       = [[Dune (franchise)|Dune]]
| first        = ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'' (1965)
| last         = <!-- Character is actively used -->
| creator      = [[Frank Herbert]]
| portrayer    = {{Plainlist|
* [[Jürgen Prochnow]] ([[Dune (1984 film)|1984 film]])
* [[William Hurt]] ([[Frank Herbert's Dune|2000 series]])
* [[Oscar Isaac]] ([[Dune (2021 film)|2021 film]])
}}
| title             = Duke and planetary governor of [[Caladan]] and [[Arrakis]]
| family            = [[House Atreides]]
| significant_other = [[Lady Jessica]] ([[concubine]])
| children          = {{Plainlist|
* [[Paul Atreides]] (son)
* [[Alia Atreides]] (daughter)
* [[Leto II Atreides]] (grandson)
* [[#Ghanima Atreides|Ghanima Atreides]] (granddaughter)
}}
| lbl21        = Prequel relatives
| data21       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Kailea Vernius]] (concubine)
* Victor Atreides (son)
* [[Paulus Atreides]] (father)
* [[Helena Richese]] (mother)
}}
}}

Duke Leto Atreides is the planetary governor of the [[ocean planet]] [[Caladan]] who takes over the lucrative spice mining operations on the desert planet Arrakis at the behest of the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV. Knowing it is some kind of trap but unable to refuse the assignment, Leto proactively seeks an alliance with the native Fremen, people tempered by the planet's harsh conditions who Leto realizes are an underestimated and untapped resource. He is accompanied to Arrakis by his Bene Gesserit concubine Lady Jessica, with whom he is in love but has not married to allow for the possibility of a politically advantageous marriage, and his son and heir, Paul. Threatened by Leto's growing influence among the [[Landsraad]] assembly of noble families, Shaddam has aligned himself with Leto's enemy, the Baron Harkonnen. The Harkonnens, secretly bolstered by Shaddam's fierce [[Sardaukar]] warriors and aided by Leto's own personal physician, the [[Suk doctor]] [[#Wellington Yueh|Wellington Yueh]], launch an attack that devastates the Atreides forces. Leto is taken prisoner by the Baron, and dies attempting to kill him.
{{multiple image
 | align = left
 | total_width = 270

 | image1 = Jürgen Prochnow o.jpg
 | alt1 = Jürgen Prochnow
 | caption1 = [[Jürgen Prochnow]] portrays Leto in the 1984 film.

 | image2 = History of Violence 002 (7271227040).jpg
 | alt2 = William Hurt
 | caption2 = [[William Hurt]] portrays Leto in the 2000 miniseries.

 | image3 = Oscar Isaac by Gage Skidmore.jpg
 | alt3 = Oscar Isaac
 | caption3 = [[Oscar Isaac]] portrays Leto in the 2021 film.
}}

The character has been described as "regal and doomed",<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/movies/dune-review-remarkable-sci-fi-remake-gets-everything-right-from-the-cast-to-the-sandworms/|title=''Dune'' Review: Remarkable New Film Gets Everything Right, From the Cast to the Sandworms|first=Soren|last=Andersen|date=October 14, 2021|website=[[The Seattle Times]]|access-date=July 30, 2023|archive-date=May 30, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530152139/https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/movies/dune-review-remarkable-sci-fi-remake-gets-everything-right-from-the-cast-to-the-sandworms/|url-status=live}}</ref> and "warmly protective but all-too-vulnerable".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gleiberman |first=Owen |date=September 3, 2021 |title=''Dune'' Review: Spectacular and Engrossing{{nbsp}}... Until It Isn't |url=https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/dune-review-spectacular-and-engrossing-until-it-isnt-1235051928/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210919232604/https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/dune-review-spectacular-and-engrossing-until-it-isnt-1235051928/ |archive-date=September 19, 2021 |access-date=September 24, 2021 |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref>

Leto is portrayed by [[Jürgen Prochnow]] in the 1984 film.<ref name="dune maslin"/> Ben Sherlock of ''[[Screen Rant]]'' called Prochnow "mesmerizing" in the role, with "a commanding screen presence" that "brought slightly more grit" than subsequent portrayals.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/dune-1984-2021-best-performances/|title=''Dune'' 1984 Vs 2021: Who Played Each Role Best?|date=April 12, 2022|first=Ben|last=Sherlock|website=[[Screen Rant]]|access-date=July 30, 2023|archive-date=July 30, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730052430/https://screenrant.com/dune-1984-2021-best-performances/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[William Hurt]] plays Leto in the 2000 miniseries.<ref name="NYT Stasio"/> Hurt was the first actor to be cast in the 2000 adaptation. A fan of the novel, he told ''[[The New York Times]]'', "I was a science fiction junkie ... [Director [[John Harrison (director)|John Harrison]]] captured Herbert's prophetic reflection of our own age, where nation-states are competing with the new global economy and its corporate elements."<ref name="NYT Stasio"/> Emmet Asher-Perrin of ''[[Tor.com]]'' wrote that Hurt "brings a certain reserved calm that works for the character."<ref name="tor 2000">{{Cite web|url=https://www.tor.com/2017/05/09/syfys-dune-miniseries-is-the-most-okay-adaptation-of-the-book-to-date/|title=Syfy's ''Dune'' Miniseries Is the Most Okay Adaptation of the Book to Date|first=Emmet|last=Asher-Perrin|date=May 9, 2017|website=[[Tor.com]]|access-date=February 20, 2019|archive-date=February 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223074241/https://www.tor.com/2017/05/09/syfys-dune-miniseries-is-the-most-okay-adaptation-of-the-book-to-date/|url-status=live}}</ref> Leto is portrayed by [[Oscar Isaac]] in the 2021 film.<ref name="ew dune 2021"/> Chaim Gartenberg of ''[[The Verge]]'' wrote, "Isaac exudes a sense of righteous honor, and it’s easy to see both why his men would follow him to a forsaken desert world and why he falls so thoroughly into the political traps."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/22737214/dune-review-hbo-max-denis-villeneuve-timothee-chalamet-sandworm|title=''Dune'' Puts an Epic Franchise Ahead of Its Epic Story|first=Chaim|last=Gartenberg|date=October 21, 2021|website=[[The Verge]]|access-date=July 30, 2023|archive-date=July 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230729091226/https://www.theverge.com/22737214/dune-review-hbo-max-denis-villeneuve-timothee-chalamet-sandworm|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2020, [[Funko]] produced a Duke Leto figure as part of their POP! Television line. It is a {{convert|4.5|in|cm|adj=on}} vinyl figure in the Japanese [[chibi (style)|chibi]] style, depicting Leto in armor and styled after the 2021 [[Denis Villeneuve]] film.<ref name="cod toys">{{Cite web|url=https://duneinfo.com/collectors-of-dune/toys|title=Toys|website=Collectors of Dune|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603235709/https://duneinfo.com/collectors-of-dune/toys|archive-date=June 3, 2023|access-date=August 1, 2023|url-status=live}}</ref>

Leto is also a primary character in the prequel trilogies ''[[Prelude to Dune]]'' and ''[[The Caladan Trilogy]]'' by [[Brian Herbert]] and [[Kevin J. Anderson]]. In ''Prelude to Dune'', young Leto's mother, [[Helena Richese|Helena]], arranges for his father, expert [[bullfighting|bullfighter]] Duke [[Paulus Atreides]], to be killed by a drugged [[Salusan bull]] so she can rule Caladan as Leto's regent. He exiles his mother to a distant convent to avoid the scandal of a public execution, and as duke takes [[Kailea Vernius]] of the industrial planet [[Ix (Dune)|Ix]] as his concubine. They have a son, Victor, but grow apart, and Kailea's resentment and insecurities build. Threatened by Leto's attraction to the Bene Gesserit acolyte Jessica, Kailea attempts to kill him, but in the ensuing accident her brother [[Rhombur Vernius|Rhombur]] is critically injured and Victor is killed. Kailea commits suicide, and Leto takes Jessica as his concubine. Though instructed by the Bene Gesserit to bear the mourning Leto a daughter, Jessica intentionally conceives the son he desires, Paul. Leto surrounds himself with loyal and capable individuals, and comes to be known as an effective politician, a fair and just statesman, and a capable leader of his small military. The new Padishah Emperor, Shaddam IV, both admires Leto and dislikes him as a political rival. Leto's military victory over the [[Tleilaxu]] forces occupying Ix, and his role in the subsequent political censure of Shaddam, ensure Leto a vengeful enemy in the emperor.
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