Good news, Dune fans: the sequel to the hit 2021 movie based on Frank Herbert’s novel has started production, with five new actors joining the cast, Deadline reports.
Florence Pugh (Little Women) will star in the film as Princess Irulan Corrino, while Léa Seydoux (Blue Is the Warmest Colour) will play the role of Lady Margot.
Academy Award winner Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter) has been cast as Emperor Shaddam IV. Austin Butler (Elvis) will play Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, and Souheila Yacoub (Climax) will star as the warrior Shishakli.
The 2021 Dune was directed by Denis Villeneuve, who will also helm the sequel. The film received 10 Academy Award nominations, including two for Villeneuve, and won six of the prizes. David Rapp of Kirkus mostly enjoyed the film, calling it “not only a visually stunning space opera but also an impressively faithful interpretation of the text. A bit too faithful at times.…Still, there’s so much else that’s worthwhile in this adaptation, that it can withstand a shaky Chosen One—and even some shaky source material.”
Returning actors from the first movie include Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Josh Brolin, and Charlotte Rampling. The sequel is being filmed in Italy, Hungary, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates. It’s scheduled for release on Nov. 17, 2023.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
