List of Dune characters

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, launch an attack that devastates the Atreides forces. Leto is taken prisoner by the Baron, and dies attempting to kill him.

The character has been described as "regal and doomed", and "warmly protective but all-too-vulnerable".

Leto is portrayed by Jürgen Prochnow in the 1984 film. Ben Sherlock of ''Screen Rant'' called Prochnow "mesmerizing" in the role, with "a commanding screen presence" that "brought slightly more grit" than subsequent portrayals. William Hurt plays Leto in the 2000 miniseries. 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] captured Herbert's prophetic reflection of our own age, where nation-states are competing with the new global economy and its corporate elements." Emmet Asher-Perrin of ''Tor.com'' wrote that Hurt "brings a certain reserved calm that works for the character." Leto is portrayed by Oscar Isaac in the 2021 film. 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."

In 2020, Funko produced a Duke Leto figure as part of their POP! Television line. It is a vinyl figure in the Japanese chibi style, depicting Leto in armor and styled after the 2021 Denis Villeneuve film.

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, arranges for his father, expert 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 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 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. Provided by Wikipedia