The role of Feyd-Rautha, famously played by Sting in David Lynch’s 1984 version of Dune, could be filled by Elvis himself. Well, maybe not quite, but by Austin Butler, who is about to hit the big time by playing Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming biopic – Deadline are reporting.
Casting for Denis Villeneuve’s hugely-anticipated science fiction sequel Dune Part Two is starting to hot up. Florence Pugh is also reportedly in talks for the role of Princess Irulan Corrino, the eldest daughter of Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV. Filming is scheduled to begin in Autumn 2022, so there’s still some time to finalise casting.
Rautha is a favourite among fans of the Frank Herbert novel and is expected to play a big role in Part Two. In the novel, he is the younger nephew and heir of the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård), and is depicted to be as similarly cruel, treacherous and cunning as his uncle. He had an iconic bleach-blonde hairstyle and blue codpiece in Lynch’s version of Frank Herbert’s stories, so fans will be very eager to see how Butler measures up in the fashion department.
Austin Butler got his start on TV shows for tweens such as Hannah Montana, iCarly, Zoey 101 and Jonas. More recently, he’s appeared in Jim Jarmusch’s The Dead Don’t Die with Adam Driver and Bill Murray and in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, as Tex Watson, one of the Manson murderers.
Butler also has a lead role in Masters of the Air, an upcoming Apple TV series set during WWII, which also stars Barry Keoghan, Callum Turner, Anthony Boyle and Rafferty Law. Four of the episodes will be directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (No Time to Die).
While we wait for more Dune 2 news, you never need be confused by Frank Herbert’s universe again. Check out our explainers of sandworms, spice, all things Atreides and the ending of Dune 1.