Chang Chen to play doctor in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

We have previously joked that BLADE RUNNER 2049 director Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of the classic Frank Herbert novel DUNE seems like it's going to star "everyone in Hollywood", but this movie actually requires a cast so large that Villeneuve has to look outside of Hollywood for his actors as well. The latest addition to the cast is Chang Chen, who works primarily in China.

Chang Chen has forty screen credits to his name, including roles in Ang Lee's CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON and John Woo's RED CLIFF. In DUNE he'll be playing Dr. Yueh, "a physician who works for the Atreides family". Fans of the source material (and previous adaptations) know that we're not just going to see Yueh giving people medicine and tending their wounds. This doctor is at the center of some intense scenes.

Written by Eric Roth, Jon Spaihts, and Villeneuve, this DUNE stars Timothee Chalamet as

Paul Atreides, whose family assumes control of the desert planet Arrakis. As the only producer of a highly valuable resource, jurisdiction over Arrakis is contested among competing noble families. After Paul and his family are betrayed, the story explores themes of politics, religion, and man’s relationship with nature, as Paul leads a rebellion to restore his family’s reign.

Chalamet and Chen's co-stars include Rebecca Ferguson as Paul's mother Lady Jessica, Oscar Isaac as his father Duke Leto Atreides, Stellan Skarsgard as the villainous Baron Harkonnen, Dave Bautista as Harkonnen's brutish nephew Glossu Rabban, Charlotte Rampling as the emperor's truthsayer Reverend Mother Mohiam, Javier Bardem as helpful tribe leader Stilgar, Josh Brolin as troubadour-swordsman Gurney Halleck, Jason Momoa as swordmaster Duncan Idaho, David Dastmalchian as the twisted Piter De Vries, and Zendaya as Chani Kynes, "the girl of Paul's dreams". 

DUNE will be filming in Budapest and Jordan, and is aiming for a November 20, 2020 release.

The film is being produced by Villeneuve, Mary Parent, and Cale Boyter, with Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, Thomas Tull, and Kim Herbert serving as executive producers, and Kevin J. Anderson on board as creative consultant.