“Dune: Part Two” stars shine in EW's exclusive cover shoot

Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler, and Florence Pugh look like Hollywood royalty in these new photos.

Dune: Part Two is finally on the horizon, and EW's new digital cover story has everything you'd want to know about the highly anticipated sci-fi sequel. Luxuriate in Peter Ash Lee's exclusive photos of stars Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler, and Florence Pugh from the cover shoot last month.

Austin Butler and Timothée Chalamet

The first Dune set up the heroic journey of Paul Atreides, but in Dune: Part Two our protagonist gets a worthy rival in the form of Butler's Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. It's no spoiler to say that these two are destined for an epic clash, and both trained hard to prepare.

"Austin was so respectful between takes, but then within a take was totally letting loose and kicking ass," Chalamet says. "It was great."

Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya

Paul spent most of the first Dune dreaming of Chani, but now they know each other for real. As their romance blossoms, complications arise due to Chani's mixed feelings about Paul's status as a promised savior of the Fremen.

"I saw a lot of contemporary metaphors for relationships people have where people are conscious of why they're attracted to somebody, but then the reasons why they shouldn't be or beliefs that they have limit them," Chalamet says. "I thought that added a complexity."

Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler, and Florence Pugh

All four main stars of Dune: Part Two are now cinematic heavyweights in their own right, and they made each other better.

“They're superpower actors,” Chalamet says of his costars. “They know instinctively how to exist in a movie of this size and really bring a strong presence, while also keeping the naturalism alive and believable. That’s something I feel like I achieved more on this one, where on the first one it was a new skill set for me.”

Zendaya and Florence Pugh

Chani was introduced in the first Dune, but has a lot more to do in Dune: Part Two. Villeneuve says the same will be true of Pugh's Princess Irulan if he gets to make a third movie based on Dune Messiah.

“When I approached Zendaya for Part One, I said, ‘I'm going to introduce your character, and if there is a second movie, then you will be one of the main protagonists.’ And she agreed,” Villeneuve says. “I made the same deal with Florence. Her character is introduced in Part Two, but then if there is an adaptation of Dune Messiah, of course Princess Irulan is one of the main characters in that story.”

Florence Pugh and Austin Butler

Pugh and Butler were both fans of the first Dune (Butler had also read the novel as a teenager) and couldn't be more excited to join the cast for the sequel.

"I felt like I hadn't seen an epic like that in a long while, and the world felt the same," Pugh says of watching Dune in 2021. "I watched it a few times before I knew that it was even a conversation to be in the second one, and it was pretty shocking that I was then allowed to be in it."

Florence Pugh

Dune's costumes are designed by Jacqueline West, and Pugh says she learned a lot about Princess Irulan from how West styled her.

“I learned so much about Princess Irulan from just my first costume fitting,” Pugh says. “You never know what version of a princess you're going to play. I assumed it was going to be lots of decadence and jewels, but just the fact that so much of her style was inspired by Japanese kimonos, I wouldn't have imagined that, but then it makes so much sense.”

Austin Butler

Feyd-Rautha is Butler's first big movie role since scoring an Oscar nomination for embodying the King of Rock 'n Roll in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis, but viewers shouldn't expect him the Harkonnen prince to sound like Presley. Here, Butler's voice more closely resembles that of Stellan Skarsgård, who plays Baron Vladimir Harkonnen.

“I felt that because he grew up with the Baron, the Baron would be a big influence on him in many ways,” Butler says.

Timothée Chalamet and Austin Butler

Filming the epic showdown between Paul and Feyd-Rautha got so intense that Christopher Walken, who plays Emperor Shaddam IV, apparently got concerned for their safety.

"Christopher was pretty scared for you guys," Pugh, who plays the Emperor's daughter, told Chalamet and Butler during EW's cover story interview. "He was like, 'Do they have to be fighting so close?'"

Zendaya and Florence Pugh

After limited screentime in the first Dune, Chani really speaks her mind in the sequel. Princess Irulan, by contrast, spends most of her time quietly observing — just as the Bene Gesserit taught her.

“The characters that I've chosen in the past are usually unbelievably vocal, very loud and opinionated,” Pugh says. “I think this might be one of the quietest characters I've ever played. But what I loved about the script is that she's constantly listening and constantly aware."

Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya

The cast of Dune: Part Two did not take its romantic elements lightly.

"You have to earn it," Zendaya says of the new movie's love story.

Zendaya and Florence Pugh

Maintaining the importance of Dune's female characters was a big priority for Villenevue in his adaptation.

“In the second part of the book, Chani and Lady Jessica are a bit more in the background, which I didn't like, because I am absolutely in love with both characters,” Villeneuve says.

Austin Butler

Luhrmann shared Butler's Elvis audition tapes with Villeneuve, which helped convince the Dune director that the actor had the right rockstar quality he was looking for in Feyd-Rautha.

"There is something about that sex appeal that is almost a weapon, and Austin has that," Villeneuve says.

Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler, and Florence Pugh

With several Oscar nominations between them already, it's safe to say these four stars represent the future not just of Dune, but of Hollywood itself.

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Related content:

• Inside the Dune dynasty: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler, and Florence Pugh discuss the battle for Arrakis

• Denis Villeneuve wants to make 'at least three' Dune movies

• Breaking down the epic moments and tantalizing teases from the new Dune: Part Two trailer

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