Dune was a novel by Frank Herbert that came out in 1964 and it was an instant classic. The novel was widely considered unfilmable for a longtime and David Lynch’s 1984’s adaptation didn’t change that notion. No one touched Dune for another 34 years until Warner Bros. decided to commission Herbert’s juggernaut to Hollywood’s new darling- Denis Villeneuve. Seeing Villeneuve’s filmography I have no doubt that there was no one better than him to helm Herbert’s sci-fi masterpiece. Villeneuve assembled an outstanding cast with Timothee Chalamet in the lead as Paul Atreides along with Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, Jason Momoa, Stellan Skarsgard, Dave Bautista, Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem. The film was co-written by Denis Villeneuve along with Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth.
Villeneuve considering the scale and the amount of story that the first novel encompasses took a very important creative call- he decided to split the first book into two movies. That was a brilliant decision. After many delays, Dune finally released in 2021 and what a film it was. In my opinion, it was the best film 2021 had to offer. The ending rendered me craving for more. The filming for second part wrapped this month with Timothee Chalamet giving us the confirmation on his Instagram. The first had Stellan Skarsgard’s Baron as the villain, however, it didn’t feature another major antagonist from Herbert’s novel – Feyd-Rautha. He was supposed to appear in the second part and the actor who plays it – Austin Butler has teased that his version of Rautha will be a layered and empathetic take on the character.
Dune: Austin Butler’s Feyd-Rautha Is Not An Outright Villain!
Austin Butler had a recent interview with Backstage, where he was asked about his character and physical preparation for the role of Feyd-Rauta in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune 2. The Elvis actor teased that unlike Herbert’s and Lynch’s take on the character, Villeneuve and his collaboration would give us a more nuanced and complex take on the infamous character. This is what the actor said:
“It’s that thing of the bad guy in the world doesn’t feel like he’s the bad guy. He feels like he’s the hero of his own story. And that can be a hard thing with certain characters; with others, it’s easier, but you have to not judge the character, and you have to find a way to feel the motivation towards anyone of your actions. So, we had a lot of conversations and crafted that together.”
In the same interview, Butler also mentioned the physical preparation he had to do for the role of Rautha, which included training with Navy SEALs for 4 months. In 1984’s Dune, Feyd-Rautha was played by Sting and because of the critical and financial failure of the film, Butler is striving to set himself apart with his performance to avoid being evocative of The Police frontman. Rautha’s physicality is important as he will star in the final knife fight with Paul at the end.
Villeneuve’s Rautha would be villain with more heroic motivations that audiences can empathize with. I hope that Butler’s Feyd-Rautha is as acclaimed as his role of Elvis for which he was recently nominated for a Golden Globe and garnering Oscar buzz as well.
Austin’s career has been going well with his inclusion as Charles Watson in Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The Elvis star has been a part of numerous TV shows and movies, his recent choices suggests his quality of working improving. With this critically acclaimed performance in Elvis that has everyone stunned and him Feyd-Rautha in Dune: Part Two, it seems like his career is on the right track.
Dune 2 adds even more faces into the fold, including Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha, Christopher Walken as Shaddam IV and Léa Seydoux as Lady Margot. Dune: Part One is available for streaming on HBO Max or Amazon Prime Video depending on the region where you live. Dune: Part Two premieres exclusively in theaters on Nov. 3, 2023.
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