It’s been a few months since Denis Villeneuve‘s Dune premiered in theaters and on HBO Max. And it’s about time we starting talking about casting for the sequel. Especially since the part one cast was basically cut in half. It was announced this week that Florence Pugh and Austin Butler are in talks to join the epic saga. Possible spoilers ahead.
Pugh is in talks to play Princess Irulan Corrino. She is the daughter of the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV. That’s the man who essentially put a hit out on House Atreides in part one. In the books, part of the deal between the Emperor and House Harkonnen was to wed Irulan to the Baron’s nephew Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. That changed when Muad’Dib emerged and defeated the Emperor’s sardaukar army. Irulan marries Paul so he can take the throne.
Pugh would make a formidable Irulan. I have no doubt she will add her own flair to the role. The fact that Legendary is courting Pugh for this role, makes me think we will see a lot of Irulan in Dune part two. She will also reunite with her Little Women co-star Timothée Chalamet. They have great chemistry on-screen.
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Butler is in talks to play Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. I only thing I know about Butler is that he’s pretty. But is he Sting pretty? Maybe. Sting made the Feyd Rautha a sinister character. Of course, Villeneuve has his own idea of who Feyd is. In the books there is an epic fight between Paul and Feyd. Feyd is kind of like, Paul’s opposite. If Paul is good, then Feyd is bad. I don’t know about you, but I like bad boys.
Feyd-Rautha Rabban is the Baron Harkonnen’s (Stellan Skarsgård ) younger nephew and The Beast Glossu Rabban’s (Dave Bautista) little brother. The Baron favors Feyd over Glossu, taking him as his heir and changing his last name to Harkonnen. The Baron had great plans for Feyd. He sent Glossu to Arrakis to terrorize the planet, then he planned to send Feyd as a savior. Thus, solidifying Feyd as a great leader, worthy of marrying the Emperor’s daughter.
The studio is also looking to cast Emperor Shaddam IV, but no word on who’s in the running. I’m super excited to see who Villeneuve thinks would make a great Emperor.
The second part of Dune is expected to start filming later this summer. In addition to Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Zendaya and Javier Bardem will also return for part two.
Let us know what you think about this possible casting in the comments. For now, you can watch Dune part one on HBO Max. Dune part two is scheduled to premiere on October 20, 2023.
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