“Dune: Part Two” director Denis Villeneuve has finally found an actor to play Emperor Shaddam IV, the shadowy villainous figure that rules the “Dune” galaxy and essentially was behind the massacre of House Atreides as he saw Duke Leto Atreides as an impending threat to his throne.
Deadline reports that Oscar-winner Christopher Walken has landed the role, which is near perfect casting given the actor’s great body of work playing ruthless but quirky villains. The veteran actor joins fellow new additions Florence Pugh (“Midsommar“) who plays the Emperor’s daughter, Princess Irulan, and Austin Butler (“Elvis,” “Once Upon At Time In Hollywood“) who is being eyed to play Paul’s feral pretty boy rival and the Baron’s nephew, Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen.
How Villeneuve will want to use Walken’s Emperor is unknown given how he held back in “Dune: Part One” since the filmmaker had enough characters and mythology to introduce to audiences. Leaving out three characters helped better serve the first installment that landed six Oscar statues earlier this year.
Walken previously won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in the fantastic 1979 film “The Deer Hunter,” with a string of film credits that includes “True Romance,” “King of New York,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Catch Me If You Can,” “Seven Psychopaths” and “Man On Fire.”
One of the last big roles to be filled is Paul’s young sister Alia Atreides who was played by Alicia Witt (“Twin Peaks“) in David Lynch‘s 1984 film.
Villeneuve has teased interest in adapting author Frank Herbert‘s second novel “Dune Messiah” for a third installment as Legendary/HBO Max is behind the series spinoff “Dune: The Sisterhood.”
“Dune: Part Two” will see the return of Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Stellan Skarsgard, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Charlotte Rampling, and Dave Bautista on October 20, 2023. Filming is said to begin this summer.