All About Anya Taylor-Joy's Secret “Dune” Character — and How She Could Impact Future Installments

"This is a dream come true," the actress has said of the role

Spoiler alert: This article contains plot details from the new film Dune: Part Two.

Anya Taylor-Joy is a vision in the new Dune sequel, and her surprise character could play a major role in future installments.

The actress, 27, has about a minute of screen time in Dune: Part Two, though her presence looms throughout the film. Her involvement in the film was revealed at the world premiere in London on Feb. 15, when Taylor-Joy walked the red carpet.

"Having seen it, this is probably one of the best movies I’ve seen in my entire life. Genuinely, Denis has killed it, it’s incredible," she said during the event's livestream. "This is a dream come true. The books are incredible but with this cast and with Denis, it doesn’t get any better than that."

Taylor-Joy shows up in a vision when Timothée Chalamet's Paul Atreides sips some Water of Life (a.k.a. liquid extracted from a baby sandworm) for a ritual and sees the legacy of his family's bloodline.

Related: Dune Cast: Meet the New and Returning Stars of the Sci-Fi Franchise

She's the grown-up version of his sister Alia, who, in this film, hasn't been born yet but speaks to their pregnant mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), while in the womb. Her dad is also Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac), who was killed in 2021's Dune.

In the brief vision midway through the film, Taylor-Joy's Alia is shown walking a sandy desert, then telling her brother she loves him as he continues to fulfill a prophecy.

Director Denis Villeneuve, who is adapting the films from author Frank Herbert's novels from the 1960s, told The Hollywood Reporter why he kept Taylor-Joy's casting a secret so long.

"I think that Hollywood is the most gossipy town on earth, and I wanted, as an experiment, to see how long we could keep a secret. We did it. It was a special unit, we went to Africa to shoot with Anya under super-secrecy. I just loved the idea to keep something a surprise for the audience until the very end. It was like a gift I wanted to keep for the fans."

In the book series, Alia is given special abilities even before her birth: Because her mom Lady Jessica completed a risky ritual of drinking the Water of Life to become Reverend Mother while pregnant, the effects transferred to Alia too.

Herbert wrote six Dune books: Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse: Dune.

Esquire points out that the character becomes known as "Saint Alia of the Knife" in the books — and she's the one who kills Baron Harkonnen. In the Dune: Part Two movie, Paul instead is the one to stab Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) to death.

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Who played Alia in the 1984 Dune film from director David Lynch? It was a young Alicia Witt, who recently looked back on her debut role.

"I can’t believe it’ll be 40 years this december since its release! i was 7 when i was cast by david lynch in 1983, and turned 8 just as i was finishing my 3 months in mexico city. an experience that changed my life in every way a life can be changed," the actress, 48, wrote on Instagram.

For fans looking for more Taylor-Joy and desert settings, the wait isn't long: She takes the lead in the upcoming Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, in theaters May 24.

Dune: Part Two is in theaters now.

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