This week has plenty of big casting news for blockbusters like Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer epic and Dune: Part Two, and it continues today as Elvis star Austin Butler is being eyed to join Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi sequel as the villainous Feyd-Rautha.
After being greenlit a week after Dune's theatrical release back in October, Dune: Part Two is now slated to begin shooting this summer. With its pre-production well underway, more casting news has been surfacing online and will likely continue in the coming weeks, as more characters will be featured in the epic sequel that will cover the second half of Frank Herbert's acclaimed 1965 novel.
Deadline reports that Butler is talks to play the Harkonnen Feyd-Rautha, a character who was portrayed by Sting in David Lynch's infamous 1984 Dune adaptation and one many fans thought Eternals star Barry Keoghan would play in the upcoming sequel. The younger brother of Glossu Rabban and the nephew and heir of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, the cruel and treacherous Feyd-Rautha eventually becomes one of Paul's main foes, as his role in the later half of the novel is a pivotal one. Legendary reportedly had no comment on news of Butler's being in negotiations.
Butler's casting news comes shortly after it was announced that Florence Pugh has also been in talks to join the sequel as Princess Irulan Corrino, the eldest daughter to Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV. Bringing in two incredible talents like Butler and Pugh to join an already stacked ensemble, Dune: Part Two is shaping up to be a worthy second chapter that could most certainly surpass its predecessor.
Villeneuve has also shared with Empire that, much like the novel, Dune: Part Two will focus heavily on the Harkonnens and be a more fun film, as the story in Dune was about Paul's journey coming in contact with a different culture and the Bene Gesserit. Now that the world of Arrakis has been established, all bets are off as to what Villeneuve will deliver on the big screen.
Aside from starring in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis biopic, which is set to release on June 24 and is role that could propel Butler to become a frontrunner for next year's awards season, Butler is also known for his work in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Dead Don't Die, and ABC's Switched at Birth series. He will also appear in the upcoming World War II drama miniseries Masters of the Air for Apple TV Plus.
Dune: Part Two will arrive in theaters on October 20, 2023.
Source: Deadline