And unlike other superheroes of the 1960s—who are the exception among ordinary people in their respective worlds—Herbert's characters grow their powers through "the application of mystical philosophies and techniques". For Herbert, the ordinary person can develop incredible fighting skills (Fremen and Sardaukar) or mental abilities (Bene Gesserit and Mentats). Denis Villeneuve, director and co-writer of the 2021 film adaptation Dune, compared Paul to the character Michael Corleone in The Godfather, explaining that "He's training to be the Duke. But as much as he's been prepared and trained for that role, is it really what he dreams to be? That's the contradiction of that character. It's like Michael Corleone in The Godfather–it's someone that has a very tragic fate and he will become something that he was not wishing to become." The Egyptian-Canadian commentator Khalid M. Baheyeldin has enumerated the obviously Islamic concepts and references appearing in Dune, to the level of finding multiple similarities between the career of Herbert's Paul Atreides and that of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Beyond the obvious general resemblance - both Muhammad and Atreides found a powerful new religion, energizing hitherto disregarded desert-dwellers to topple an old empire and build a new one - Baheyeldin noted various specific similarities between Muhammad's career and that of Atreides. In adaptations Paul is portrayed by Kyle MacLachlan in David Lynch's 1984 film adaptation, and by Alec Newman in the 2000 Dune miniseries and its 2003 sequel. The character is played by Timothée Chalamet in the 2021 Denis Villeneuve film Dune. Richard Corliss of Time notes that "MacLachlan, 25, grows impressively in the role; his features, soft and spoiled at the beginning, take on a he-manly glamour once he assumes his mission." Lynch and producer Raffaella De Laurentiis specifically wanted to cast an unknown actor in the role of Paul, and began a nationwide search. Casting scout Elizabeth Leusting found MacLachlan, who had been performing in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Laura Fries of Variety writes that "Newman, as the sour Paul, sticks to just one note". Emmet Asher-Perrin of Tor.com suggested that the choice to cast adult actor Newman as Paul is problematic because the character is written in the script as less mature and observant than he is in the source novel. Chalamet received strong praise for his portrayal in the 2021 film. Ben Travis of Empire wrote, "Among the uniformly excellent performances, Timothée Chalamet holds his own in