Dune: Part Two has been delayed into 2024, but eager fans can glimpse two of its biggest stars in a new image released by Warner Bros. Pictures via Empire. The new photo shows the villainous Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, played by a bald Austin Butler, face-to-face with Lady Margot Fenring, a Bene Gesserit and wife of the former governor of Arrakis, played by Léa Seydoux. Both characters are new to the series, not appearing in 2021’s Dune. As Feyd-Rautha, youngest nephew of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård), is House Harkonnen’s planned heir, he has a significant role to play in the sequel, which concludes the story of Frank Herbert’s original 1965 Dune novel, upon which the films are based.
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“Austin brought something that is a cross between a psychopath killer, an Olympic sword master, a snake, and Mick Jagger,” Denis Villeneuve, who directed both Dune films, told Empire. “He has tremendous sex appeal and charisma and madness. It’s really out there.”
In a 2022 interview with Backstage, Butler said of Feyd-Rautha, “[We] really try to dig into the humanity of [the character]. It’s that thing of the bad guy in the world doesn’t feel like he’s the bad guy. He feels like he’s the hero of his own story. And that can be a hard thing with certain characters; with others, it’s easier, but you have to not judge the character, and you have to find a way to feel the motivation towards anyone of your actions. So, we had a lot of conversations and crafted that together.”
Margot is a supporting, even background character in Herbert’s original novel, expanded later in the Dune prequel novels written by Herbert’s son, Brian, and Kevin J. Anderson. In Dune: Part Two, she’ll be on a Bene Genesserit mission involving Feyd-Rautha, and Villeneuve implies Margot will have more presence in his film than she does in the novel while remaining guarded about specifics.
“I don’t want to talk too much about Lady Fenring,” he told Empire. “She’s part of the spider web of the Bene Gesserit, but I want to keep the mystery around her.”
He continued, “My version of Dune is different because the thing that really seduced me about the book was the Bene Gesserit. My adaptation is more oriented toward their impact – they are the puppet masters of the universe!”
The further Herbert got into his original Dune series, the more it became apparent that the Bene Gesserit breeding program was central to the story’s narrative. Vllenueve’s fascination with the group may be why it’s the focus of the Dune: The Sisterhood television series that is currently in the work for Max.
Dune: Part Two Cast and Release Date
In Dune: Part Two, according to its synopsis, “Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the universe, he must prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.”
The Dune: Part Two cast includes returning stars Timothée Chalamet as Duke Paul Atredies, Zendaya as Chani, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Javier Bardem as Stilgar, Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck, Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Vladimir Harkonen, Dave Bautista as Glossu Rabban, Charlotte Rampling as Gaius Helen Mohiam, and Stephen McKinley Henderson as Thufir Hawat. New additions to Dune: Part Two‘s cast include Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, Christopher Walken as Shaddam IV, the Padishah Emperor, Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, Léa Seydoux as Lady Margot, and Souheila Yacoub as Shishakli.
Dune: Part Two opens in theaters on March 14, 2024. Dune is streaming now on Max.
