In the book (and spoiler alert to anyone reading!), the Emperor was handing over spice harvesting to the Atreides. The position was pretty regularly rotated among the major houses, from what I remember. But the Harkonnens and the Atreides were feuding and the Emperor was worried about the rising popularity of Duke Leto Atreides among the other houses. So he handed the reins in Arrakis from the Harkonnens to the Atreides, allowing the Harkonnens to lay some traps. Then he secretly gave several legions of his Saudakar for the Hankonnens' attack on the city of Arakeen, with the goal of destroying House Atreides. Plans within plans, and what have you.
It looks like they'll have that in the movie, although the spice harvester sabotage scene from the book might have been changed to just an accident in the movie.
I don't remember that the Fremen loved the place.
Yeah, that's a mixed bag. I think the Fremen have respect for the planet. ("God created Arrakis to train the faithful." ) But while they may "love" it, one major subplot in the series is their attempt to turn the planet green. They certainly don't enjoy the harsh climate!
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