The great cast of Dune is getting even better for the upcoming continuation, Dune: Part Two

Per DeadlineBlack Widow’s Florence Pugh is “in negotiations to join the cast” as Princess Irulan, the daughter of the Emperor of the Universe. That is the key villain in Frank Herbert’s Dune novel, although the character never actually appeared onscreen in Denis Villeneuve’s first Dune, which was only about half of the original book.

In David Lynch’s Dune, Virginia Madsen played Princess Irulan, In that movie’s very first scene, she is the one who has the unenviable task of laying out the premise of Dune; she explains how the film is set thousands of years in the future, where the spice melange is the most valuable substance in the known universe. And she also does it as basically a disembodied head floating in outer space. (If you have never seen it, David Lynch’s Dune is a little weird.)

Villeneuve adapted just the first part of Frank Herbert’s Dune for his film, with the hope that Warner Bros. would let him make the second half if Part One was a hit. Thankfully, the movie did well enough in theaters and on HBO Max that Warners quickly gave him the green light to produce the follow-up. The returning cast of Dune: Part One includes Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgard, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, and Javier Bardem.

If you missed Dune: Part One in theaters or on HBO Max, it will return to streaming on March 10. Dune: Part Two is currently scheduled to open in theaters on October 20, 2023.

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