Dune: Part Two, the second half of director Denis Villeneuve‘s two-part adaptation of the Frank Herbert novel Dune, is gearing up to go into production so it will be ready for an October 20, 2023 theatrical release – and now we have our first piece of casting of news. The Hollywood Reporter hears that Florence Pugh of Black Widow and Midsommar is in negotiations to play the character Princess Irulan in Dune Part Two.
Princess Irulan is one of three major roles that need to be filled for this half of the story. The others are Emperor Shaddam IV, “the ruler who sent the Atreides family to Arrakis”, and Feyd-Rautha, “the cunning nephew of the baron who heads the Harkonnen.” Princess Irulan is “the daughter of the Emperor.”
The Hollywood Reporter notes that there are a couple obstacles that have to be overcome before Pugh can take on the role: First, she’s waiting to get a look at the script, which is still a work in progress. Second, she’s a contender to play Madonna in a biopic and there might be a scheduling conflict if she gets both that job and the Dune job. Legendary is hoping to get Dune: Part Two into production this summer, and plan to shoot the film partly in Hungary, which also served as a location for Part One. However, the war in nearby Ukraine may prevent that from happening.
Scripted by Villeneuve, Eric Roth, and Jon Spaihts, Dune: Part One stars Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, “a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding” who
must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence – a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential – only those who can conquer their fear will survive.
Chalamet’s co-stars included Oscar Issac as Paul’s father Duke Leto Atreides; Rebecca Ferguson as Paul’s mother Lady Jessica; Josh Brolin as troubadour-swordsman Gurney Halleck; Jason Momoa as swordmaster Duncan Idaho; Stellan Skarsgård as the villainous Baron Harkonnen; Dave Bautista as the brutish “Beast” Rabban; Javier Bardem as helpful tribe leader Stilgar; David Dastmalchian as the twisted Piter De Vries; Sharon Duncan-Brewster as ecologist Doctor Liet Kynes; Charlotte Rampling as the emperor’s truthsayer Reverend Mother Mohiam; Chang Chen as physician Dr. Yueh; Stephen McKinley Henderson as Thufir Hawat, Master of Assassins for House Atreides; and Zendaya as Chani, “a mystery woman who haunts Paul in his dreams”.
In addition to Black Widow and Midsommar, Pugh has been in The Commuter, Outlaw King, Malevolent, and Fighting with My Family. She reprised her Black Widow role in the Disney+ series Hawkeye, and received an Oscar nomination for her performance in 2019’s Little Women. She’s currently working on the Christopher Nolan film Oppenheimer.
Are you excited Florence Pugh landed a role in Dune Part Two?