What’s Been Revealed About the ‘Dune’ Sequel So Far?

Florence Pugh and Austin Butler are in talks to join the cast

On March 8, it was reported that Florence Pugh was being courted to play Princess Irulan, the Emperor’s daughter who marries Paul for political reasons. Pugh and Chalamet have, of course, played a couple before, in Greta Gerwig’s heartwarming adaptation of Little Women. Then, on March 10, more news followed: Austin Butler, who’s gone stratospheric since the release of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, in which he stars as the titular King of Rock ’n’ Roll, was in negotiations to play Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, the nefarious nephew of Baron Harkonnen and his chosen heir. 

The other luminaries touching down on Arrakis? Christopher Walken, who will be taking on the part of Emperor Shaddam IV, the ruler who felt threatened by Leto Atreides and so conspired with House Harkonnen to send him and his family to the desert planet, and Léa Seydoux, as Lady Margot, a member of the Bene Gesserit and an ally of Paul’s. The role of her husband, Count Fenring, has yet to be cast, as does the part of Alia Atreides, Paul’s younger sister.

It should feature epic showdowns, and Chalamet and co. riding sandworms

Fans of Herbert’s novel have pointed out that Dune only covers approximately two-thirds of the tome, meaning there’s plenty of material left for the sequel. The first film ended with Paul joining the Fremen with the intention of bringing peace to Arrakis, so, assuming the second picks up where it left off, we should then witness Paul’s rise to power. When word of his greatness reaches Baron Harkonnen and the Emperor, they amass fleets around the desert planet and Paul leads the Fremen into battle on giant sandworms under the cover of an electric storm. We can hardly wait.

The release date could be delayed

On November 7, 2021, Collider reported that production for Dune: Part Two would begin on July 18, 2022, with the film due to arrive in theaters on October 20, 2023. But, at Deadline’s Contenders Film: The Nominees event in March 2022, one of the film’s producers, Mary Parent, announced that the schedule for filming had shifted from the summer to the fall. It remains to be seen if the release date will be pushed back as a result.