There’s been a lot of exciting news out of the Dune camp today. One of the juiciest bits of info is director Denis Villeneuve confirming that notorious villain Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen will make an appearance in the sequel.
Feyd was famously played by rock musician Sting in the 1984 adaptation of Frank Herbert’s world-famous novel of the same name. Feyd is Baron Harkonnen’s nephew and the next in line to take over the throne. His older brother, Beast Rabban Harkonnen, appeared in the new movie and was played by Dave Bautista.
Now we’re getting word about who might play the villain. Screen Rant recently reported that Eternals star Barry Keoghan was in the running to play Feyd in the sequel. Keoghan played Druig in Marvel’s latest movie and would be a gripping choice for the role.
When asked if he’d be interested in playing the character, Keoghan said “definitely” and added that he was a massive fan of both Villeneuve and star Timothée Chalamet.
In the book, Feyd is sort of a counterweight to Paul Atreides. He was conceived in the same breeding program by the Bene Gesserit and is an adept swordsman with a villainous streak. Sting played the character with a campy panache, but there’s a lot of darkness to explore with the Harkonnens in general.
Villeneuve said that saving Feyd for Dune: Part Two was an intentional choice, according to Empire.
“Definitely. That’s a choice that I personally brought on. There was enough characters that were introduced in this first part, and it will be more elegant to keep Feyd for Part Two. It will be definitely a very, very important character in the second part.”
Villeneuve gambled by only filming part one of Dune, banking on the hope that the movie would do well and warrant a sequel. The sequel was greenlit by Warner Bros and Legendary Pictures two days after the first movie was released.
Dune: Part Two is scheduled to hit theaters on Oct. 20, 2023.
