Legendary Entertainment has been making a habit recently of grabbing fan favorite actors for their upcoming Dune remake. The cast is already wildly impressive and after hearing that Dave Bautista of Guardians of the Galaxy fame had snagged the role of “Beast” Rabban, we’re now learning that Star Wars: Episode IX‘s Oscar Isaac has climbed on board, too.
According to Variety, he’ll play the role of Duke Leto Atreides, who’s the father of the main character, Paul Atreides. As you no doubt know, Paul will be brought to life by Timothée Chalamet in what’ll be the first of at least two films based on the popular Frank Herbert novel.
There’ve been several attempts already to bring this sci-fi epic to the big screen (one of which was even the subject of the acclaimed 2013 documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune), but the only successful attempt was the mediocre 1984 version directed by David Lynch, which didn’t do much business at the box office but has since found itself with a fairly big cult following.
If you aren’t familiar with the novel Dune, it’s basically a far-future epic with themes of political meddling and warring dynasties. More specifically, though, it focuses on the aforementioned Paul Atreides, whose family “assumes control of the desert planet Arrakis. As the only producer of a highly valuable resource, jurisdiction over Arrakis is contested among competing noble families. After Paul and his family are betrayed, the story explores themes of politics, religion, and man’s relationship to nature, as Paul leads a rebellion to restore his family’s reign.”
From what we understand, the project is being pitched as Game of Thrones meets Star Wars, and with a director of Villeneuve’s caliber calling the shots, Dune is quickly finding itself as one of the most hotly-anticipated films currently in the works. That’s no surprise, either, when you take a look at the cast, and with most of the major roles now filled, you can expect to learn more about the remake shortly as it continues on its way to heading in front of the cameras.