Denis Villeneuve has found the emperor for his highly anticipated Dune sequel: Christopher Walken.
The production for Dune: Part 2 is expected to begin in around two months. Therefore we have already gotten two major castings for the four important new characters that will join the already stacked cast of the first film. Only the role of Emperor Shaddam IV was up in the air, until now as Christopher Walken is set to play the role.
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Shadam IV is the ruler of the known universe who send House Atreides to Arrakis in order to cause their downfall, as he made a deal with the House Harkonnen. In the sequek he will be the one to beat and is, besides Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, Paul Atreides’ (Timothée Chalamet) biggest enemy.
Christopher Walken On The Sand Dune
Christopher Walken is best known for playing the villains Max Shreck in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns and Max Zorin in the James Bond film A View To Kill. The actor won an Oscar for his performance in The Deer Hunter and was nominated for Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can. He recently starred in the highly acclaimed Apple TV+ series Severance.
At first, I thought this could have been a casting for David Lynch’s Dune (in which the role was played by Jose Ferrer). But after thinking about it, Christopher Walken is a great choice and could crush this role. He has the presence and is known for playing villains. His look also differs from members of House Atreides and Harkonnen.
While he wasn’t a popular fan cast, like his soon to be on-screen daughter Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, I think the casting team might found a great emperor.
The other two major new characters are Princess Irulan, who will be involved in some political actions of Chalamet’s Paul Atreides and Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, Paul’s nemesis. Irulan is set to be portrayed by Florence Pugh, reuniting her with her Little Women co-star Timothée Chalamet. The role of Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen went to Austin Butler who will soon be on everyone’s minds for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrman’s biopic Elvis, which hits theatres at the end of June.
The only major casting that is left open after Christopher Walken is the role of Alia Atreides, Paul’s sister, who is going to become a major asset in the war against the Harkonnen and the Emperor. A popular fancast for the role is Brooklynn Prince, who is known for Sean Baker’s incredible film The Florida Project. With filming set to start soon, we might find out about the casting rather sooner than later.
Dune is Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of the famous novel by Frank Herbert. The film was a box office success making $400 Million at the Global Box office, which lead to the green light of the sequel only weeks after it opened in US theatres. It also went on to gain 10 Academy Award nominations, including for best picture, and won six Oscars (the most of the night). Villeneuve always intended his adaptation to be split in two parts as the story is just too big. He also plays with the idea of a trilogy, as he’d like to adapt the second book by Herbert: Dune Messiah.
HBO Max also has ordered a spin-off show called Dune: The Sisterhood, which is set 10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides and follows the Harkonnen Sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind, and establish the fabled sect known as the Bene Gesserit.
Dune: Part Two is set to hit theatres October 20, 2023.
What do you guys think? Do you like the casting of Christopher Walken? Are you excited for the sequel? Let’s discuss everything in the comments down below and on our social media.
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Source: Deadline
