Dune: Part 2: The First Official Photos of The Film By Denis Villeneuve Via Vanity Fair

Vanity Fair has been entrusted with the first official images of Dune: Part 2, the film directed by Denis Villeneuve which will arrive at the cinema in early November 2023. In the images, we can see Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, Zendaya as Chani, Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck, Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha, Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Harkonnen, Dave Bautista as Glossu Rabban, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Léa Seydoux as Lady Margot, Javier Bardem like Stilgar.

Villeneuve states that it is not a sequel, but actually the second part of the film: objectively the first ended with a huge cliffhanger and certainly could not be said to be self-contained, having “simply” introduced the story and the perilous journey of the protagonist, Paul Atreides. Paul will now have to face a very tough test, riding a sandworm, something never done before by a foreigner like him, welcomed into the Fremen tribe on condition that he manages to become one of them.

Dune: Part 2: The First Official Photos

It’s a matter of life and death because if you get it wrong, you’re dead. It’s a rite of passage, one’s way of growing up in the Fremen world. It is a very important part of their culture, and they respect the worms as if they were demigods, maintaining a religious relationship with them.

Says the director, who among other things reveals not only new images of the characters played by Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Stellan Skarsgård, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, and Dave Bautista but also the first look of Princess Irulan, daughter of Emperor Shaddam IV (played by Florence Pugh, defined by Villeneuve himself as “regal”) and Austin Butler in the role of the Harkonnen heir, Feydh-Rautha, a ruthless element who will come into conflict with Paul. This is the character who, in David Lynch’s film, was played by Sting. “A cross between a psychotic and sociopathic serial killer and Mick Jagger” according to the director’s curious description. The cast will also see the return of Javier Bardem, Charlotte Rampling, and Stephen McKinley Henderson, while among the new additions, we also find Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, and Souheila Yacoub.

Dune: Part 2 Release Date and Star Cast

The big-screen epic continues the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s acclaimed bestseller with the return of stars including Academy Award nominee Timothée Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name), Zendaya (Spider-Man: No Way Home), Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning), Academy Award winner Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men, Being the Ricardos), Academy Award nominee Josh Brolin  ( Avengers: Endgame ), Stellan Skarsgård  ( Avengers: Age of Ultron ), Dave Bautista (Thor: Love and Thunder ), Academy Award nominee Charlotte Rampling ) and Stephen McKinley Henderson. Also starring in the sequel are Austin Butler (Elvis, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood) as the infamous Feyd Rautha and screen legend Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter, Hairspray) as the Emperor. Florence Pugh (Black Widow, Little Women), Léa Seydoux (Crimes of the Future), and Souheila Yacoub (the No Man’s Land series, Climax) round out the extensive cast.

This film will explore the mythical journey of Paul Atreides as he joins Chani and the Fremen as he is on a path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Faced with a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he struggles to prevent a dire future only he can foresee. Denis Villeneuve will direct Dune: Part 2 from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jon Spaihts based on Herbert’s novel. The film is produced by Villeneuve, Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe, and Patrick McCormick. Executive producers are Josh Grode, Herbert W. Gains, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, Kim Herbert, Thomas Tull, Jon Spaihts, Richard P. Rubinstein, and John Harrison, with Kevin J. Anderson as creative consultant.