A few months ago, the prospect of a Dune sequel seemed like a far-off fantasy. Thanks to the undeniable success of Denis Villeneuve’s long-awaited adaptation, though, we now know that a follow-up will be a reality. Now that the new movie has been greenlit, fans have a lot of questions about what to expect — and when they can expect it. However, it sounds like one thing is for sure: one of the biggest production issues from the first film is likely to crop up again when they begin work on Part 2.
Part of what makes Dune work so well is its tremendous ensemble cast. It turns out that gathering several of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors for a single project was no small feat when it came to prepping for the first film. And Denis Villeneuve told Deadline that it won’t get easier when it’s time for production to begin on Dune 2:
One of the big challenges of the film is getting all these people assembled. It’s a high-class problem to have, but they’re all so busy and at the top of their game that figuring out how to schedule the movie was not easy.
You only need to take one look at the potential cast list for the sci-fi sequel to see that the acclaimed filmmaker isn’t exaggerating. Of course, Timothée Chalamet will be reprising his role as Paul Atreides, and he’s easily one of the most in-demand actors of the moment. Zendaya is also expected to play a much larger part as Chani in the upcoming sequel, and she’s not exactly hurting for work, either.
While some of the prominent players likely won’t make a return given their characters’ fates, we can still expect to see many others coming back. That includes Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Dave Bautista as Glossu Rabban, and Javier Bardem as Stilgar.
One also has to wonder who will be cast to play some of the series’ remaining characters. There’s already fan speculation about who could play Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in Dune 2 and, and given Denis Villeneuve’s track record for casting thus far, it’s likely to be another highly sought-after actor.
Even with the unique challenge of assembling such a big ensemble, there are other reasons to suspect we may be waiting a bit before the movie ultimately hits theaters. The Blade Runner 2049 filmmaker has already said that while he is excited to get started, he also wants to make sure that he and his team take the time to focus on making the best film possible. Given that he took the same approach to making Dune and it turned out so well, we’re willing to give him and the cast all the time they need to get it right.