See the Current Cast of “Dune” Compared to the Actors from the 1984 Original
'Dune: Part Two" is in theaters on March 1. See the new cast side-by-side with the stars who originated their roles
The new cast of Dune is getting all the buzz, but they're hardly the first ones to step onto the intergalactic planet of Arrakis. Based on the sci-fi books by Frank Herbert, the original film came out in 1984 and was directed by the notable David Lynch.
The film starred the likes of Kyle MacLachlan, Sir Patrick Stewart, Sean Young, Virginia Madsen, Sting and many more.
Decades later, French-Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve gave the franchise new life in 2021 and also cast some of Hollywood's current best stars: Timothèe Chalamet, Zendaya, Josh Brolin and Oscar Isaac, among others.
Below, see the cast of Dune and Dune: Part Two compared to the actors who originated their roles. The new film hits theaters March 1.
Kyle MacLachlan and Timothee Chalamet as Paul Atreides
Playing the main character in Dune and Dune: Part Two is Timothée Chalamet, who takes over the role of Paul Atreides — a charismatic warrior and mystic. In the 1984 Dune, Kyle McLachlan plays the character.
Sean Young and Zendaya as Chani
Zendaya plays Chani Kynes, Paul Atreides' concubine with whom he has three children. The role was originally occupied by Sean Young, who has also appeared in films such as Blade Runner, No Way Out and Wall Street.
Virginia Madsen and Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan
Chronicling the life of Paul in history books is Princess Irulan, who is also his wife. Virginia Madsen first stepped into the role in 1984, before she landed other parts in films such as The Prophecy, The Haunting in Connecticut and Candyman. Florence Pugh brings the character back in the new Denis Villeneuve film.
Kenneth McMillan and Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen
Kenneth McMillan originated the role of the power-hungry, conniving and manipulative antagonist Baron Vladimir Harkonnen in the film series. And though Stellan Skarsgård is happy to step into the villainous shoes of the Baron, he admitted the process of getting into the gnarly costume isn't exactly fun.
He told Collider, "You have to fool yourself. You know it's gonna be painful, but you go there, and you just take it minute by minute, and you concentrate on the people that you're working with or that are working on you, and watch them and their skills. But I don't wanna do it again."
Jürgen Prochnow and Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides
Oscar Isaac plays Duke Leto Atreides, the father of Chalamet's character. And despite being only 15 years older than the Wonka actor, the two managed to pull off a great father-son dynamic.
"He really allowed himself to go to that place to have that dynamic of me being his father figure — and that’s something that needs to come from him," Isaac told The Hollywood Reporter of his costar.
"I can try to give off dad vibes as much as I want, but it’s that old acting adage that it’s the court that tells everybody who the king is, not the king," he continued. "How the court treats the person of higher status tells you everything you need to know about them.”
The role of Duke Leto was originated by German voice actor Jürgen Prochnow in 1984.
Sting and Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen
The new and old words collided when Austin Butler — who plays Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, the younger nephew and heir to Baron Harkonnen — met with his Dune 1984 counterpart, Sting. The pair crossed paths while at the Dune: Part Two premiere in New York City on Feb. 25.
"It was so surreal. My mind was blown. He's the best," Butler said of meeting the former Police singer/bassist.
"He came up afterward, and he was so, so, lovely and just debonair," Butler said of their meeting. "I asked him about [starring in the original Dune movie] and he said he still has the codpiece from the original [Dune], he said he's going to dry clean it and let me wear it if I want to."
Sir Patrick Stewart and Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck
A strong ally to the house of Atreides, Gurney Halleck will be played by Josh Brolin in Dune: Part Two. In the part originally played by fellow Hollywood legend, Sir Patrick Stewart, Brolin will get more screen time as his role in the story reportedly becomes more significant this time around.
Francesca Annis and Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica Atreides
Another character who's going to get more screen time this go-round is Lady Jessica Atreides, the mother of Paul Atreides and concubine to Duke Leto Atreides. Actress Rebecca Ferguson revealed to Screen Rant that audiences are going to see the matriarch go through an emotional transformation alongside her son.
"I think what's interesting is — we're not going to talk about Paul's journey because that's Timothée's job — but the spiritual and emotional journey that they go through goes hand in hand," she told the outlet.
"The journey that he needs to go through is a similar one that Lady Jessica needs to go through. And they do it completely differently but end up sort of at the same place anyway. So it's a spiritual, physical [metamorphosis]."
The role was originally played by English actress Francesca Annis.
Max von Sydow and Sharon Duncan-Brewster as Dr. Liet Kynes
Whether or not Dune's Sharon Duncan-Brewster will reprise her role as Dr. Liet Kynes — the Imperial Planetologist of Arrakis and designated Judge of Change — is yet to be seen in Part Two, but as of now, the actress is not credited in the film, per IMDb.
Stepping in the part previously held by Max von Sydow in 2021, the actress told The Hollywood Reporter that she was determined to bring her A-game in her introduction scene, given the fact that she was acting alongside heavy hitters.
“These are the big boys and girls of Hollywood, and I had all of these scenes where it’s normally just me on my own, standing my own ground and addressing all of these very talented individuals,” she stated.
"This was also the one scene that stuck in my head as, ‘You’ve got to get this right, Sharon.’ The one thing I didn’t want to do was try to be a female version of Max [von Sydow]. No one could ever touch what he did because he’s the wonderful actor that he was.”
Dean Stockwell and Chang Chen as Dr. Wellington Yueh
In hindsight, the casting of Dean Stockwell as Dr. Yueh was problematic given the fact that he was a caucasian actor playing an Asian character. However, Villeneuve course-corrects in the reboot, casting Taiwanese actor Chang Chen for the part.
Freddie Jones and Stephen McKinley-Henderson as Thufir Hawat
Thufir Hawat is a loyal head of security and bodyguard to the House Atreides, who [SPOILER] ends his own life after discovering he was inadvertently working against the rulers he loves so much. The role was first played by Freddie Jones, and Stephen McKinley-Henderson takes over in the recent films.
Linda Hunt and Golda Rosheuvel as Shadout Mapes
Golda Rosheuvel temporarily put her Bridgerton crown aside to play Shadout Mapes, the head housekeeper in the Imperial Residence. The role belonged to Linda Hunt in Lynch's 1984 adaptation.
Brad Dourif and David Dastmalchian as Piter De Vries
Long before Brad Dourif was scaring us as the voice of Chucky, he was playing Peter De Vries — another supervillain in the Dune universe and right-hand man to Baron Harkonnen. The role is currently occupied by David Dastmalchian, who previously starred in The Dark Knight, The Suicide Squad, The Boogeyman and more.
Paul Smith and Dave Bautista as Glossu Rabban Harkonnen
Glossu Rabban Harkonnen is deemed as a senseless and ruthless assassin in the Dune universe. However, when Dave Bautista accepted the role, he wanted to give the character some layers — which he gets to do in Dune: Part Two, as the part was expanded.
And even though he's no stranger to working in a star-studded ensemble, Bautista admitted this film is on a different level.
“It's intimidating,” the actor told PEOPLE. “It's really intimidating, looking over and seeing Stellan Skarsgård and looking down and seeing Christopher Walken, and seeing Timmy and Zendaya and Austin [Butler] and Florence [Pugh] and Josh Brolin.”
“God, I have a man crush, a huge man crush on Josh Brolin,” he added. “I love him as a performer, as a human being.”
The role was Paul Smith's in the original film.
Everett McGill and Javier Bardem as Stilgar
Everett McGill and Javier Bardem played Stilgar, the leader of the Fremen on Arrakis. While at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022, Bardem gave attendees a teaser on what they can expect from Dune: Part Two.
“I’ve read the new draft and I think they’ve done an amazing job of putting together the pieces in a way that is gonna surprise people. They won’t be surprised [by what happens], obviously, because they’ve read the book, but they’ll be surprised by the way they put it together," he said, per The Hollywood Reporter.
"I was very moved by it. It’s a movie that is full, and you can feel the weight of it, and at the same time [you can enjoy] the spectacularity of it. [I can’t wait] to go back to the desert with those people, and I’m so happy to go back with Denis, who is one of the greatest directors ever. He’s a lovely man.”
Richard Jordan and Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho
Jason Momoa plays House of Atreides' loyal swordmaster, Duncan Idaho. Much like Duncan-Brewster, Momoa had some nerves going into Dune: Part One.
“It wasn’t necessarily the role,” he told Unilad. “It’s more my fear, nerves of failure in front of my peers and idols.”
The role originally belonged to famed Broadway actor Richard Jordan, who also starred in films such as The Hunt for Red October, Les Miserable, his final film, Gettysburg.
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