Dune: Part Two: Christopher Walken joins the cast as Emperor Shaddam IV in Villeneuve’s sci-fi sequel

I’ve got a fever, and the only prescription is more spice! In a wild turn of events, Christopher Walken will join the cast of Dune: Part Two as Emperor Shaddam IV. Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, and Javier Bardem are also confirmed to be returning for the highly-anticipated science-fiction sequel from director Denis Villeneuve.

Walken will play Emperor Shaddam IV, the ruler of the known universe, who initially sends the Atreides family to Arrakis to cause their downfall. In the continuation, he and the baron terrorize the populace and must contend with the rebellion.

Meanwhile, Florence Pugh is playing Princess Irulan, the emperor’s daughter. At the same time, Austin Butler is Feyd-Rautha, the cunning nephew of the baron who heads House Harkonnen and who is being groomed to rule Arrakis.

Filming is scheduled to begin this summer in Budapest. In addition to his directorial duties, Villeneuve also wrote the script with Jon Spaihts. Villeneuve, Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, and Tanya Lapointe produce. Josh Grode, David Valdes, Herbert W. Gains, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, Kim Herbert, Thomas Tull, Jon Spaihts, Richard P. Rubinstein, and John Harrison executive produce.

While previously speaking with Collider about the pressure of making Dune: Part Two, Villeneuve suggested that making the sequel comes with a unique set of challenges.

“The first one, it was more to make sure that we will land in the world and that the movie will be accepted. Now it’s to make sure that we can close that first book, so it’s like there’s some premises that are in the first movie that I need to ignore. So yeah, I think I would say there’s more pressure with the second one in some ways.”

Villeneuve also provided the outlet with an update on the screenplay for Dune: Part Two, saying the script is “in his hands” and that it will continue to require re-writes until “the final cut” is decided.

“The screenplay is finished mostly, but it’s always a work in progress. It’ll be a work in progress until the final cut, but I will say it’s solidified. I have a script in my hands. We are in prep right now.”

Whoa! What do you think about Walken joining the cast? I love when Walken steps into a villainous role, as he always tends to give it his all. Do you remember when Walken played the villain Hatcher in The Rundown, starring Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, and Rosario Dawson? His Tooth Fairy speech is still the stuff of legend, and I can’t wait to see him in a larger-than-life role for Dune: Part Two.