OMG, Austin Butler Might Be Joining the Cast of ‘Dune: Part Two’

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Photo credit: Jacopo Raule - Getty Images
Photo credit: Jacopo Raule - Getty Images

After what felt like a million different (very justified) COVID-19-related delays, Dune, the sci-fi epic starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, and a whole list of other celebs you love, finally arrived last fall. And the biggest twist of the whole movie was that it was…not the whole movie. It was just part one. At least, that’s what it said in the opening credits. Which begs the question: Are we getting Dune: Part Two? And if so, when? Here’s everything we know so far.

The director always envisioned Dune as a two-part movie.

It might seem like a bit of a rip-off to walk into a movie and not get the full story, but that was basically always the plan with this particular film. Denis Villeneuve, who directed Dune, always wanted to break the book it’s based on into two parts when adapting it.

“I would not agree to make this adaptation of the book with one single movie,” Villeneuve told Vanity Fair in a first look at the movie way back in 2020. “The world is too complex. It’s a world that takes its power in details.”

And the second part was confirmed.

They didn’t shoot both of the movies at one time, and with the way COVID-19 has impacted the movie industry, it was a little up in the air whether the second movie would happen. But it seems there IS a god, because Timothée posted this to his Instagram last year:

That feels like a confirmation if I’ve ever seen one!

It did feel like this was fairly inevitable. Ann Sarnoff, chair and CEO of WarnerMedia Studio and Networks Group, which is the studio behind Dune, told Variety how they would determine whether or not the sequel would happen last week.

“The story in itself sets up for a sequel. The production is so amazing and the storytelling is so compelling that it’s not going to be judged on box office alone,” she said. The decision will be based on “the entirety of what Dune can do for the company, including HBO Max.” Well, it seems like it must have been a success in all those very vague categories!

Florence Pugh might be getting a role.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, she's being considered for Princess Irulan, the daughter of the Emperor that sent House Atreides to Arrakis in the first place. I haven't read the book Dune is based on, but some sources are saying (read: the internet) that Princess Irulan and Paul Atreides become romantically involved. Hubba—and I cannot stress this enough—hubba.

The only problem is that, per THR, Florence is also in contention for the Madonna biopic, and if she gets that, she might not be able to also do Dune.

And Austin Butler might also join the cast.

Even more potential casting news! Austin Butler, the star of the upcoming Elvis movie, is being considered for the role of Feyd-Rautha, who is the nephew of the Baron Harkonnen. Apparently the character is just as cruel as his uncle, who, the last time I checked, was taking a bath in a tub of goo or something.

While this is amazing news for Austin fans, there is some devastating context here:

If Harry Styles was being considered at one point but is not being floated as the character, that means he is probably out of the running or had a scheduling conflict or something. Major bummer.

Dune: Part Two has a confirmed release date.

It's slated for October 20, 2023, which is almost exactly two years after the first installment hit theaters. It's supposed to film this summer, but if we've learned anything in the last two years, it's that these dates can and probably will have to change at some point. But feel free to put October 2023 in your calendar for now.

We’ll be getting other Dune spin-offs too.

Dune: The Sisterhood, which is a prequel series based on the book, is in the works at HBO Max already. So the company is already planning on expanding this universe, à la Marvel. It would have been really weird if they decided it wasn’t worth doing a second Dune movie but it *was* worth doing a whole series based on this.

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