Austin Butler's Role in Dune: Part Two Confirmed

Austin Butler has confirmed his upcoming role in Dune Part Two. Butler told The New York Times he's begun intense knife-fight training to play Feyd-Rautha in part two of director Denis Villeneuve's adaptation. Feyd-Rautha is the favored nephew of Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard), leader of the rival house to House Atreides, and more cunning than his brutish brother, "Beast" Rabban (Dave Bautista). Previous reports suggested that Butler was in contention for the role played by Sting in David Lynch's 1984 Dune adaptation. It's a significant part as Feyd-Rautha becomes the primary foil and antagonist to Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet).

Dune: Part Two enters production in July. Villeneuve has called it the biggest challenge of his career.

"It's gonna be intense," Villeneuve said during an event celebrating Canadian Oscar nominees. "I'm in prep right now. Monday morning, as soon as we leave Los Angeles, it will be to start to go on with prep. I cannot say nothing about the movie – I don't like to talk about projects as I am doing them – but it's probably going to be the biggest challenge of my career, again, because it's even more complex than Part One."

Dune: Part Two adapts the second half of Frank Herbert's iconic 1965 sci-fi novel. Villeneuve previously confirmed that the film's script is complete. In addition to Butler as Feyd-Rautha, Florence Pugh joins the cast as Princess Irulan, and Christopher Walken will play Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV. In the sequel, Villeneuve has said Zendaya would have a more substantial role as Chani, the Freman with whom Paul falls in love on his path to becoming a reluctant messiah.

"For Zendaya, I will say Part One was a promise. I know that we saw a glimpse of her in Part One, but in Part Two, she'll have a prominent part. We will follow Timothée and Zendaya on their adventures in the desert. That's the thing that excited me most about going back to Arrakis is to spend time with those characters again," Villeneuve told Variety.

Dune: Part Two may not be Villeneuve's final Dune movie. Rumors suggest the director has plans for a third Dune film adapting Herbert's first sequel novel, Dune Messiah, which brings Paul and Chani's story to its end. 

"It's going to be another beautiful journey in the desert again," Villeneuve said of Dune: Part Two while speaking at the PGA Awards. "It's the journey where Paul Atreides and his mother, Lady Jessica, make contact with the Fremen culture and meet with the Fremen. It's Paul's journey against the enemy ... It's a movie that will be more cinematic."

Dune: Part Two opens in theaters on October 20th, 2023. Butler stars in Elvis, opening in theaters on June 24th.