When news of Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Dune started circulating, fans of the beloved novel couldn’t wait to see the film. Less than a week after it hit the theaters, a sequel received the green light, giving long-time and new fans of Dune something to be excited about.
The first movie had already featured a star-studded cast with Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, and Jason Momoa, to name a few, and the Dune: Part 2 will continue to see its roster of talents increase as Javier Bardem, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, and Christopher Walken.
While the actors’ names already provided enough excitement, Javier Bardem added fuel to the fire, sharing that he read the script for the sequel and believes it will “surprise” people.
Bardem will reprise the role of Stilgar, the leader of the Fremen tribe where Zendaya’s Chani originates from. Towards the end of the movie, the Fremen tribe greeted Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) after escaping a coup.
During a Q&A at the Cannes Film Festival, Bardem shared his enthusiasm for Dune: Part 2.
“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,” he revealed. “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. 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 specularity of it. [I can’t wait] to go back to the desert with those people, and I’m so happy to go back with [director] Denis [Villeneuve], who is one of the greatest directors ever. He’s a lovely man.”
As Bardem mentioned, fans already have an idea of what’s to come, but director Villeneuve will be introducing a more cinematic element to the Frank Herbert adaptation.
“The difference is just that Dune: Part One, of course, is like an introduction to a world where we explain who is who, who is doing what, and what is the technology? What is the culture here?” said the director in an interview last year. “The second movie, I think, will be an opportunity to have much more fun. In a way, it will be more cinematic.”
