Dune: Part Two Director Denis Villeneuve Teases "Prominent" Role for Zendaya in Sequel

Dune was one of 2021's most popular movies and recently managed to score ten Academy Award nominations, including one for Best Picture. While fans of the film wait to see if it earns any Oscars, there has also been a lot of rumors pouring in about the recently-announced sequel. Dune: Part Two will see the return of Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, and Javier Bardem. In a recent interview with Variety, director Denis Villeneuve spoke about the upcoming sequel and promised that Zendaya will play a bigger role in the follow-up.

"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 shared.

During the conversation, the director teased a Dune: Part Two scene that will be difficult to get right. "It involves sandworms that's going to be one of the beautiful challenges of my life. And I know if I do it right, that will be the scene," Villeneuve teased.

Villeneuve was also asked about the rumors that Florence Pugh could be joining the sequel. He said "things are not solidified," but he is a "big fan of Florence."

"I'm writing [Part Two] now, and I feel like I'm eight years old again," Villeneuve shared with Total Film last year. "That's very uncommon for me. It's the first time I've experienced it where I'm watching one of my movies, and I have a moment of deep gratitude, of deep joy, and I say, 'Thank you, life, for having allowed me to bring that to the screen.' [laughs] I don't know how other people will feel about it. But me? Denis Villeneuve when he was 14 years old? Thank you." 

As for Zendaya, the star recently spoke about the good time she had making Dune.

"I didn't want to leave," Zendaya explained. "Denis had such a warmth, and there was a familial quality to the way it felt when I got there. I felt very welcomed by the crew and cast, everybody was so lovely to me. Denis is so detail-oriented and thoughtful; any question I had, he had thought about before. He had answers for everything, so I was able to speak with him and develop Chani very quickly. I became very close with Timothée. We were like, 'Oh, this is great, we're gonna be besties, I can tell.'"

Dune is now streaming on HBO Max. Dune: Part 2 is currently scheduled to be released on October 20, 2023.