Big Dune news to report today. Following on the rush of recent casting and rumours, word arrives that Denis Villeneuve has found the person to play the mysterious, ruthless Emperor Shaddam IV in Dune: Part Two. Christopher Walken is that person!
Unseen in the first movie (though represented by his functionaries, messengers and the formidable Sardaukar forces he dispatched to aid House Harkonnen in the dastardly house's attack on House Atreides just after they arrive on the planet of Arrakis), he'll be a major force in the second.
He, along with Stellan Skarsgård's Baron Harkonnen, will terrorize the populace of the world also known as Dune and must contend with the rebellion led by Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet).
Paul's story picks up where it left off, the young Atreides/chosen saviour fleeing with the native Fremen populace into the desert and helping the fight against the Emperor and the Harkonnen. The returning cast includes Zendaya as Fremen warrior Chani, Javier Bardem as Fremen leader Stilgar, Rebecca Ferguson as Paul's powerful mother Jessica and Josh Brolin as Atreides Warmaster Gurney Halleck.
Along with Walken, other new recruits this time include Florence Pugh, who is playing Princess Irulan, the emperor's daughter, and Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha, the cunning nephew of the baron, who is being groomed to rule Arrakis.
Villeneuve, who once again wrote the script with Jon Spaihts, will kick off production this summer in Budapest. The movie is currently scheduled to arrive on 20 October next year.