Against what seemed like heavy odds, and the climate of COVID all around it, the ambitious, expensive, and evidently risky “Dune” adaptation from Warner Bros. was a big hit last year, grossing $400 million at the box office worldwide despite being available day and date on HBO Max in the U.S. Now, as director Denis Villeneuve ramps up the sequel, part two, eyeing a summer production start, casting is ramping up.
Earlier this week, we learned that Florence Pugh was in negotiations to join the cast, and now Deadline reports that “Elvis” star Austin Butler is in talks to play Feyd-Rautha, one of the antagonists of the story initially played by Sting in David Lynch’s 1984 version.
In the Frank Herbert novels, Feyd is the younger nephew of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen of House Harkonnen, played by Stellan Skarsgård in Villeneuve’s 2019 version. Feyd figured heavily in the Baron’s plans to gain power, and Baron Vladimir nominated him as the “Na-Baron”— heir to House Harkonnen. The translation is that he’ll likely be the new or number two bad guy in “Dune: Part Two,” which currently has a release date of October 20, 2023.
Butler is known for roles in “The Carrie Diaries,” playing Tex Watson in” Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” and Wil Ohmsford in “The Shannara Chronicles,” but his big breakout role hasn’t even been released yet. In a significant vote of confidence, even though he is still considered a relatively new actor, Baz Luhrmann handpicked him to appear as the title character in his upcoming “Elvis” film, also being released by Warner Bros, who clearly likes what they have seen. “Elvis” is already being rumored as the opening night film of the Cannes Film Festival or a major, out-of-competition title. Still, either way, Butler seems pegged for big and better things, so Villeneuve getting him on the ground floor for his sequel seems like great timing. By the time ‘Part Two’ arrives, he could be a massive star.
“Dune” stars Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin are all expected to return for the sequel being written again Jon Spaihts, who we conveniently just interviewed.
