Why The Baron Floats In Dune (How Much Does He Weigh?)
While watching Dune, it is hard not to notice that Baron Vladimir Harkonnen mainly gets around by floating — but why does Baron Harkonnen float? Portrayed by Stellan Skarsgård, Baron Harkonnen is the corrupt and brutal villain of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, who was at one time tasked by Dune's Padishah Emperor to rule over Arrakis. Like his book counterpart, this version of the Baron is the rotund ruler of House Harkonnen.
When Baron Harkonnen was younger, he had a much different frame. While the Expanded Dune Universe explains the Baron's weight as the result of a disease, the main canon — and the Baron himself in dialogue — suggest that years of gluttony and greed have morphed the villain into the man he is portrayed in the film. His ever-increasing size creates major mobility problems and eventually leaves him unable to walk, forcing him to rely on technology just to move.
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How and why does Baron Harkonnen float in Dune? Unable to support his own weight, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen has employed the use of suspensor belts that nullify gravity. The movie never reveals the Baron's exact weight. However, one clue exists in the first book in Frank Herbert's Dune series. As Herbert writes, “He might weigh two hundred Standard kilos in actuality, but his feet would carry no more than fifty of them.” suggesting the Baron weighs a minimum of this amount - which converts to about four hundred and forty pounds of weight.
In the books, Baron Harkonnen does not float. It's mentioned that he uses suspensors, but it's confirmed at least twice that he walks. There is one mention of the Baron's legs only having to carry fifty kilos of weight, and in an early scene, there is a
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