The accomplished director’s choice to adapt only the first half of the book was a risky one where pandemic conditions made the success of the movie - and thus the possibility of the second part - uncertain. Luckily, audiences flocked to the production both in theatres and streaming platforms, so the continuation recieved the green light.
One side effect of adapting half the book is that Villeneuve had to decide on where to split the story, and what elements to leave out. Among these is a key character, Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, nephew of the baron. When the first part didn’t cast anyone in the role, some fans assumed that in a change from the source material this character and that of Rabban - played by Dave Bautista - would be merged. Luckily, this is not the case. Denis Villeneuve has confirmed that Feyd-Rautha will appear in Dune 2. Played by Sting in David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation, the character is a foil to Paul Atreides who is important to the plot as another result of the centuries-long Bene Gesserit breeding program of which Paul was also born. While we now know that Feyd will be appearing in the sequel, it still isn’t clear who will play the role. Dune: Part 2 is set to start filming in the summer of 2022, so there is still time to cast the right actor for the character, but it is safe to say that some candidates are already being considered. Naturally, the rumor mill isn’t letting this one slide - there are already whispers of Barry Keoghan, who recently starred in Marvel’s Eternals as Druig, taking the role. When asked about this, Keoghan gave a non-committal answer as is to be expected even if he is part of the production. Nonetheless, the actor did say that hypothetically, they would be happy with the opportunity. Dune: Part 2 is set to premiere in 2023. To get your Dune fix in the meantime, there are plenty of video games that whisk you away to Arrakis.
