Dune: Part Two is about to make its debut in theaters – and the second chapter of Denis Villeneuve’s epic retelling will introduce a whole new set of characters – and even more famous actors to play them.
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The first Dune had the stacked ensemble cast of Timotheé Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem – just to name a few. Some of them didn’t make it out of the first film, but the cliffhanger ending of Dune (2021) opened up new doors for a pivotal new set of characters to enter.
Here’s the breakdown of who Dune 2’s New Characters are:
Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (Austin Butler)
Feyd-Rautha is Baron Vladimir Harkonnen’s youngest nephew and the planned successor of House Harkonnen. That makes him the direct enemy and rival of Paul Atreides.
Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh)
Princess Irulan is the daughter of Emperor Shaddam IV, and becomes a pivotal character in the Dune saga.
Emperor Shaddam IV of House Corrino (Christopher Walken)
Shaddam IV is the head of House Corrino Emperor of the known universe. He’s also the man who sent House Atreides to Planet Arrakis and then allied with the Harkonnen to wipe out Duke Leo Atreides and his family, to control the spice market and its riches. That betrayal will have to be answered for.
Lady Margot Fenring (Léa Seydoux)
Like Lady Jessica, Lady Margot is a Bene Gesserit – only she is a close friend to the Emperor. That gives Shaddam access to the same mystical powers and insight that Paul and Jessica possess. A dangerous figure in the interstellar chess game.
Shishakli (Souheila Yacoub)
While Shishakli hasn’t been featured much in the marketing for Dune: Part Two, she is noted to be a Fremen warrior who will presumably get a moment in the spotlight during the sequel. She’s significant enough that you can find her on the Dune: Part Two poster, to the lower-left of Josh Brolin’s Gurney Halleck.
Expanded Roles
While they won’t be “new” characters, characters like Javier Bardem’s Fremen leader Stilgar, and Zendaya’s love interest Chani, will be getting significantly bigger roles in Part Two. The same arguably goes for Rebecca Ferguson’s Lady Jessica, Josh Brolin’s Gurney, and a few other faces we didn’t get to know all that well in the first film.
??? (Tim Blake Nelson)
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and Captain America: Brave New World star Tim Blake Nelson is in Dune: Part Two – but he’s been cast in a mystery role. It’s even hard to look to Frank Herbert’s source novel for the answer. Our best guess is Count Hasimir Fenring, Lady Margot’s husband and loyal right-hand-man to Emperor Shaddam IV. Hasimir has a small by pivotal role in Dune’s climatic act – and the onscreen pairing of Nelson and Christopher Walken would be sublime.
