Dune 2020 has an embarrassment of stars—How well do they match their roles?

VENICE, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 09: Charlotte Rampling arrives at the Award Ceremony during the 74th Venice Film Festival at Sala Grande on September 9, 2017 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)

Charlotte Rampling as Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam

Speaking of being born to play a role…

The Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam leads the Bene Gesserit Chapterhouse and is part of the Emperor’s personal retinue. She is very powerful, has the blue-in-blue eyes of someone with a Melange (Spice) addiction, and often uses her powers to control others through emotional and voice manipulation.

Mohaiam is angry with Lady Jessica for giving Dule Leto a son (Paul) rather than the daughter she was instructed to produce. However, after she tests him with the Gom Jabbar — a brutal test involving a box filled with “pain” — she realizes he could possibly be the prophesied Kwisatz Haderach.

From that moment on, she keeps a watchful eye on Paul, either directly or by using a network of spies loyal to the Emperor or to the Chapterhouse itself.

Charlotte Rampling has been working onscreen since 1964, when she appeared as a nightclub dancer in A Hard Day’s Night. Since then, she’s been in dozens of films, from histories like Henry VIII and His Six Wives to psychological dramas like The Night Porter and Melancholia to comedies like Stardust Memories to sci-fi epics like Babylon A.D. She’s also worked on stage and TV, been nominated for an Academy Award, and generally kicked ass for over 50 years. As far as I’m concerned, she could probably play Paul and pull it off, but she’s a perfect match for the Reverend Mother.