Director Denis Villeneuve has assembled a stellar cast for his new Dune movie. How well do the cast members fit their characters?
Have you heard the news? Legendary Pictures is adapting Frank Herbert’s Dune into a movie written and directed by visionary director Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Blade Runner 2049). The first film, which would cover the first half of the first novel, is set to hit theaters in December of 2020. If things go well, we could be looking at a long-running series.
One thing the first film has going for it is its high-powered cast. Villeneuve has put together an all-star roster of actors, from Timothée Chalamet to Jason Momoa to Zendaya. All of them bring something unique to the party, and together they could make Dune something well worth watching.
But how well do they fit their roles? With David Lynch’s divisive 1984 adaptation as a reference point, we go actor by actor to find that out.
First, some quick background on the world of Dune: The story takes place thousands of years in mankind’s future, after it has colonized the stars. The universe is ruled by noble Houses from varying planets, all answering to a galactic Emperor. Space exploration is made possible in large part due to a highly addictive substance called Melange, or Spice. Spice can prolong a person’s life, give them heightened senses, and even prescient powers. The only problem is, once a person gets addicted to Spice, it’s impossible to stop taking it without dying.
Spice can only be found on the planet of Arrakis, better known as Dune, a desert planet populated by the hardy Fremen people and the gigantic sandworms. The House that rules the planet instantly becomes very powerful and ridiculously rich.
And that’s where the Story of Dune starts. Let’s try and see where these actors could take it.
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – FEBRUARY 05: Actor Timothee Chalamet attends the 90th Annual Academy Awards Nominee Luncheon at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 5, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides
Paul is the son of Duke Leto Atreides and his concubine, the Lady Jessica. He is the heir and only son of House Atreides and the main character for the first couple Dune books. Because Paul’s mother is of the powerful Bene Gesserit order, she took part in the organization’s breeding program and was ordered to produce a daughter who could then be paired with another human to bear the Kwisatz Haderach, a figure with special abilities the Bene Gesserit think they can use to further their control over the universe. However, because she fell in love with Duke Leto, Jessica used her Bene Gesserit training to manipulate the genes in her womb and give him the son he’d always wanted: Paul.
Because Jessica trained Paul from an early age in the ways of the Bene Gesserit, he knows how to use his voice to manipulate those around him, his senses are heightened, and he has been schooled in the secret Bene Gesserit martial arts. He has also undergone mentat training, which basically means he’s a human computer. He also trains with different weapons under the tutelage of people like Gurney Halleck and Duncan Idaho.
Image: Dune/Universal
In David Lynch’s version of Dune (1984), Paul was played by Kyle MacLachlan, who did a very good job with the role. In fact, I think Chalamet bears some resemblance to a young MacLachlan. Chalamet is perfect for Paul. He can convincingly play a teenager, he has the bearing of someone from an aristocratic family, he’s been in a big-budget sci-fi film (Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar), and he’s already been nominated for an Academy Award for his work in Call Me By Your Name.
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 13: Rebecca Ferguson attends the “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” UK premiere on July 13, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)
Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica
Lady Jessica is the concubine of Duke Leto Atreides and mother to their son, Paul. Proud and forceful, Jessica is a major player in the story, getting her and her son out of many scrapes and fighting with everything she has to protect the people she loves. She’s cool and collected, which some read as suspicious, but she always has her family’s best interests at heart, even when it conflicts with the orders of her Bene Gesserit superiors.
Image: Dune/Universal Pictures
Rebecca Ferguson looks like the Lady Jessica described in Frank Herbert’s novels. She has the shaded-bronze hair color and a regal bearing. Her role as Elizabeth Woodville in Starz’s The White Queen is a great example of what she may bring to Dune 2020; both Elizabeth and Jessica are protective mothers who fight fiercely for their children’s place in the world.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 03: Oscar Isaac attends the “Triple Frontier” World Premiere at Jazz at Lincoln Center on March 03, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)
Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides
Star Wars star Oscar Isaac has that Duke Leto look. In the books, Leto is described as a tall man with an olive complexion and black hair. As the patriarch of House Atreides, he ruled his homeworld of Caladan before the Emperor sent him to Arrakis (Dune). He’s a decent man who loves his family. As Lady Jessica fell in love with him, so did he with her, much to the chagrin of Jessica’s Bene Gesserit superiors.
Isaac is a sturdy actor who’s played villains, heroes, fathers and sons. He should easy for him to slip into the Duke Leto’s authoritative shoes, especially when he looks so close to how Herbert described the character. Plus, his big-budget sci-fi experience with Star Wars means he’s already familiar with productions of this scale.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 21: Zendaya attends the Fifth Annual InStyle Awards at The Getty Center on October 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for InStyle)
Zendaya as Chani
Chani is a fierce Freman warrior who falls in love with Paul Atreides. The Fremen are the indigenous people of Arrakis, a desert-dwelling people Paul and his mother befriend. Although Paul and Chani are deeply in love, because of his status, Paul cannot officially marry her, so by the end of the first Dune novel, Chani’s title is Imperial Concubine. Their love closely echoes that of Paul’s mother and father.
In the books, Chani is the powerful woman helping guide the powerful man from behind the scenes. She refuses to play second fiddle to the woman Paul is eventually forced to marry, and she can more than hold her own in a fight.
If you’ve watched any of Zandaya’s recent work — Spider-Man, Euphoria — you know she is more than capable of playing a leading lady in a big-budget Hollywood movie. If Dune is faithful to the books, she’ll get a lot of screentime, and we can’t wait to see what she does with it.
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 28: Jason Momoa attends the premiere of Warner Bros Pictures “Joker” on September 28, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images)
Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho
In the books, Duncan Idaho is described as a handsome man with curling black hair known to be quite the ladykiller. He is a loyal swordmaster and highly skilled pilot in the service of House Atreides. His lightning-quick reflexes make him an unpredictable fighter a young Paul finds hard to copy.
Idaho features in a lot of action scenes, and I can think of no one better than Game of Thrones star Jason Momoa to play him. Idaho is a charismatic guy and Momoa has charisma to spare. And if Dune is a hit, Momoa will have plenty of work incoming, as the character appears in all six of Herbert’s novels.
NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 18: Actor Josh Brolin attends the New York screening of “Sicario: Day Of The Soldado” on June 18, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck
Gurney Halleck is a complicated character with a couple different sides to him. On the one hand, he’s a talented musician who plays a nine-stringed instrument called a baliset. When he’s not making music, he always has a philosophical quotation on hand for any situation. And on the other hand, he’s a hardened warrior who trains young Paul in different fighting styles, a survivor with a distinctive inkvine scar on his jawline where, as a slave to House Harkonnen, Glossu Rabban whipped him.
There’s no doubt that Brolin has the jaw to display Halleck’s scar, and his work in the Sicario and Avengers movies gives him enough combat training that he shouldn’t have too much trouble fitting into the role. Moreover, Brolin is an Academy Award-nominated actor capable of exploring Halleck’s deeper dimensions.
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA – SEPTEMBER 16: Javier Bardem poses during the Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Content Group’s “Loving Pablo” special screening at The London West Hollywood on September 16, 2018 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Javier Bardem as Stilgar
Stilgar is one of the leaders — or Naibs — of the Fremen. Before House Atreides arrive on Arrakis, Duncan Idaho is sent ahead to make contact the Fremen and see if they would be willing to work with Duke Leto. He meets Stilgar, and decides that they are.
In fact, Idaho is so impressed with Stilgar that he pledges dual loyalty to both House Atreides and Stilgar. Stilgar is a quietly authoritative leader who takes Paul Atreides under his wing and trains him in the ways of his people. He is described as a thin man with a glistening black beard. He’s also Chani’s uncle.
Stilgar teaches Paul to ride a sandworm, and eventually, he acts as the general of the Fremen army under Muad’Dib (Paul Atreides’ Freman name).
Bardem looks like the strong silent type. His deep voice and powerful presence make it seem like he was always meant to play Stilgar.
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.
TORONTO, ON – SEPTEMBER 08: Actor Stellan Skarsgard of ‘Borg/McEnroe’ attends The IMDb Studio Hosted By The Visa Infinite Lounge at The 2017 Toronto International Film Festival at Bisha Hotel & Residences on September 8, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for IMDb)
Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen
…and now let’s talk about the one actor I can’t ever see in their given role.
Baron Harkonnen is described as so immensely fat that he requires anti-gravity devices called suspensors to support his weight.
He is vile, ruthless, and cruel, despite his debilitating obesity, his one weakness is that he’s attracted to young boys — a fact that was exploited by his own nephew, Rabban, — during an attempt to remove his uncle from power –planted a poisoned needle in the top layer of a young boy’s inner thigh, which almost led to his death.
Instead of being angry with Rabban, the Baron actually begrudgingly respected the move, as House Harkkonen has been killing each other in play for power since its formation.
Here’s the thing: Skarsgard looks nothing Kenneth McMillan, who portrayed the Baron in the 1984 David Lynch Dune movie. And if the director wants to stay as book-accurate as possible, with a “grossly and immensely fat” Baron, then he’s going have to task his costume and prosthetics departments to create fat suit and jowls, as well as pustules oozing from his face.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JULY 10: Dave Bautista attends the Premiere of 20th Century Fox’s “Stuber” at Regal Cinemas L.A. Live on July 10, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images)
Dave Bautista as Glossu “the Beast” Rabban Harkonnen
Rabban Harkonnen inherited his uncle’s penchant for sadism and cruelty, but not cunning. Rabban earned the nickname “Beast” when he killed his father, Abulurd Harkonnen. At one point, he’s put in charge of Arrakis, where he soon becomes known for being very cruel and extremely ineffective.
This is one of Villeneuve’s better casting choices. Bautista is probably best known to movie fans as Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy, where he’s given a lot of funny moments to play, but there’s little funny about Rabban. He’s merciless, mean and not someone you want to be alone in a room with.
We already know he can look intimidating, on screen and in the wrestling ring. Bautista will need to access some of his animalistic instincts to play this role well, which we’re confident he can do.
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – MAY 04: Presenter and actor David Dastmalchian speaks on stage at the 17th Annual Golden Trailer Awards on May 04, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for The Golden Trailer Awards)
David Dastmalchian as Piter De Vries
Piter De Vries is a powerful Mentat in service to Baron Harkkonen. He’s a “twisted” Mentant, as sadistic and cruel as he is intelligent.
Dastmalchian has had plenty of experience playing grim roles. He played Coco in Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049, he was on the SyFy channel’s version of 12 Monkeys, he played a supervillain on CW’s The Flash, and he was in Showtime’s 2017 revival of Twin Peaks.
CANNES, FRANCE – MAY 14: Chang Chen attends the screening of “Blackkklansman” during the 71st annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 14, 2018 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for Kering)
Chang Chen as Dr. Yueh
Dr. Yueh was a specially-trained “Suk” doctor. In the universe of Dune, the Suk School of Medicine trains its doctors to be the absolute best healers in the known galaxy.
Yueh was part of House Atreides and held the full trust of Duke Leto and Lady Jessica. However, Yueh’s beloved wife was kidnapped and tortured by House Harkonnen, who then used her as leverage to get Yueh to betray his benefactors. He struggles with these divided loyalties through the first chunk of the novel, but does eventually turn on the Atreides…although even as he betrays them he offers them some help.
Herbert describes Yueh like this:
"He was a straight stick figure of a man with a squarish block of a head and black hair, with he wore long and caught in a Suk School silver ring at his left shoulder. He had a sallow complexion, up-angled cheeks, almond-shaped eyes like dark sequins, and a drooping mustache that hung like a curved frame around his purple lips and narrow chin. His forehead was tattooed with the black diamond of Imperial Conditioning."
Chen looks as though he can pull off Yueh’s aesthetic. As someone’s who’s been acting on film since they were a teenager, he should also have the chops to pull off one of the more complex roles in the story.
NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 19: Stephen Mckinley Henderson attends the “Fences” New York Screening at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center on December 19, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
Stephen Mckinley Henderson as Thurfir Hawat
Thurfir Hawat is a very powerful Mentat — basically a human computer — and the Master of Assassins for House Atreids. He has served loyally in that position for three generations, but when Duke Leto Atreides is killed in a Harkonnen ambush, he’s captured and brought before Baron Vladimir Harkonnen.
The Baron — recognizing how valuable a resource Thurfir could be — spares his life and keeps him as his own. However, to assure Thurfir will be loyal to him, he poisons his food and then gets him addicted to the antidote, which he keeps just out of reach. If Thurfir acts against his new master, he would die.
We don’t actually for sure know if Henderson is playing Hawat in the movie, but that’s the rumor, so let’s just proceed as if it’s true. Every other key position in House Atreides has been cast, after all.
With his lost list of television and film credits, there is no doubt that Henderson has the acting chops to play Hawat, and to pull off a very emotional scene at the end of the second Dune film.
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 23: Actor Babs Olusanmokun attends the premiere screening of “Night One” of the four night epic event series, “Roots,” hosted by HISTORY at Alice Tully Hall on May 23, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for HISTORY)
Babs Olusanmokun as Jamis
Jamis was a Fremen warrior of Sietch Tabr. In a crucial scene, he challenges Paul’s place among the Fremen, and the two fight to the death. Paul slays Jamis is hand-to-hand combat, and is thereafter welcome among Stilgar’s Sietch Tabr.
Olusanmokun actually looks like a hardened desert warrior, and with his long list of credits, I have no doubt he can bring the intensity needed to the part of Jamis, not to mention the physicality for an exciting action scene.
LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 28: Gloria Obianyo attends the Global premiere of Amazon Original “Good Omens” at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on May 28, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)
Gloria Obianyo as Harah
After Paul kills Jamis in single combat, according to Fremen law, he must take Jamis’ wife, Harah, as his own. Paul is in love with Chani, but promises to always take care of Harah. The two get along well enough, with Harah helping to take care of Paul’s children by Chani after they’re born. She also helps to nurse Alia Atreides, the daughter of Lady Jessica and Duko Leto. Eventually, Harah becomes Stilgar’s wife, which effectively makes her the first lady of Sietch Tabr.
Harah is fiercely loyal to her friends and family, and gives respect to those who give it to her. Obianyo doesn’t have many credits as of yet, but what is there is strong, and I’m sure she’ll make an impression as Harah. Also, as with Jamis, I’m happy to see that Villeneuve is choosing people of color to play these important roles.
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