Austin Butler, who got his first big break in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, is circling the key role of Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in Dune: Part Two. This announcement comes after a report earlier this week touting Florence Pugh’s potential casting as Princess Irulan.
Butler, who Deadline reports is currently in negotiations for the part, would be joining an all-star cast, including Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin, all set to return for Dune: Part Two. The first film is currently up for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and a slew of other technical and craft awards.
Butler has become something of a hot commodity, and will soon be seen in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis as the King of Rock and Roll himself. He’s also playing one of the main characters in World War II drama Masters of Air, Apple TV+’s Band of Brothers spin-off series. With this role he will likely have the opportunity to be in multiple Dune films and shows, should the series continue.
Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen is one of the antagonists of Frank Herbert’s epic sci-fi series. The character is set up as the heir to the Harkonnen empire, and is typically characterised as being a horribly mean, bad person in a book series characterised by horribly mean, bad people. Feyd-Rautha in particular is a bit of dick, unafraid to break rules and not above fighting dirty. Should Butler end up taking this role, he’ll have big shoes to fill after Sting’s memorable portrayal of Feyd-Rautha in the 1984 Dune adaption by David Lynch.