Dune: Part Two Reportedly Eyes Star for Fan-Favorite Role

By Jamie Jirak

After the success of Denis Villeneuve's Dune, which just earned ten Oscar nominations including one for Best Picture, many fans are eager for news about the upcoming sequel. Dune Part Two is expected to see the return of Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, and Javier Bardem, but there are plenty more roles from the books to be cast. This week, it was rumored that Black Widow star Florence Pugh could be joining the sequel, and Deadline is now reporting that Austin Butler is being eyed for a role. 

Butler is known for appearing in The Dead Don't Die and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and will soon be playing the titular role in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis. According to Deadline, Butler is being eyed for the role of Feyd-Rautha who was played by Sting in David Lynch's version of the film back in 1984. In the novel, the character is the younger nephew and heir of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, the character who was just played by Marvel alum Stellan Skarsgård. Feyd-Rautha is "depicted to be as similarly cruel, treacherous and cunning as his uncle." Deadline reports that Legendary had no comments on the rumors of Butler's possible casting. 

"We have been hearing in the past few decades that it's not possible to adapt this book and that it's an impossible task. I think that in the back of the mind of the studio, it's still the same!" Villeneuve told Total Film in an interview last year. "So the first thing was to prove that there was a beautiful, popular movie that can exist, and I think that I proved that – everybody at Warner Bros and Legendary, they are 100 percent behind the project. They feel that it would need a really bad outcome at the box office to not have a Dune: Part Two because they love the movie. They are proud of the movie, so they want the movie to move forward. And they still did half of it. So, you know, I'm very optimistic."

"I'm writing [Part Two] now, and I feel like I'm eight years old again," he added. "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." 

Would you like to see Butler play Feyd-Rautha? Tell us in the comments! 

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

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