Dune Part 2 Is Zeroing In On A Potential Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen

Critics and audiences alike sang high praise for 2021's "Dune" (via Rotten Tomatoes), but there was one nearly universal complaint from moviegoers: Where is the rest of the movie? As most readers likely know by now, despite being widely marketed simply as "Dune," Denis Villeneuve's latest science fiction feature is actually titled onscreen as "Dune: Part One."

Luckily for all the "Dune" enthusiasts out there, Warner Bros. updated the fan community relatively quickly after the first film was released. Four days after the wide release of "Dune: Part One," Warner Bros. confirmed that "Dune: Part Two" had already received a green light (via Twitter). In the time after this announcement, the box office returns for "Dune: Part One" swelled to over $400 million worldwide, a sizable payday for a Warner Bros. film released during the pandemic (via Box Office Mojo).

All of the surviving principal characters from the first film are expected to return, including such prominent names as Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin (via The Hollywood Reporter). Of course, like most sequels, "Dune: Part Two" is also expected to expand its cast with a handful of fresh faces new to the franchise. Today, Deadline broke the news about one of those new cast members.

According to Deadline, "Elvis" star Austin Butler is currently negotiating a deal to portray Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in Villeneuve's "Dune: Part Two," the upcoming sequel to last year's Academy Award-nominated blockbuster. Feyd-Rautha was previously played by Sting in 1984's "Dune" (via IMDb) and by Matt Keeslar in the 2000 miniseries "Frank Herbert's Dune" (via IMDb). 

News of Butler's casting comes only days after news broke that "Black Widow" star Florence Pugh appears set to board the film as Princess Irulan, a role previously played by Virginia Madsen and Julie Cox in the 1984 and 2000 versions of "Dune," respectively. Additionally, although we have to yet to hear the names of any potential candidates, The Hollywood Reporter further states that casting for Emperor Shaddam IV is currently underway.

Should Butler finalize a deal for the role, it would mark the rising star's first significant job in a major film franchise. Though Butler's on-screen presence began a whole 15 years ago on such series as "Hannah Montana" and "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide," the actor has recently enjoyed a substantial career boost as a result of his role as Tex Watson in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood" (via IMDb). Audiences can next watch him in the title role of Baz Luhrmann's "Elvis," a film set to hit theaters on June 24 (via IMDb).

"Dune: Part Two" is currently set for release on October 20, 2023 (via IMDb).