Austin Butler — previously best known for MTV’s The Shannara Chronicles — turned in a performance in Elvis that brought him A-list fame and an Oscar nomination. His next project, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two, is similarly high-profile, and it sounds like it’ll showcase yet another aspect of his acting talents.
“Everything about his demeanour is terrifying,” Butler’s Dune: Part Two co-star, Knock at the Cabin’s Dave Bautista, told Variety. Butler will play Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, a character from Frank Herbert’s book that was previously and memorably brought to the screen by Sting in David Lynch’s 1984 Dune. And since Butler’s persistent Elvis accent — a crucial aspect of the character that required a great deal of research and practice — has been the subject of much speculation and amusement as he’s made the awards rounds, here’s Bautista to reassure us that Feyd-Rautha won’t speak in a Southern drawl, as well as praise his fellow actor’s ability to transform himself: “I don’t know who this guy was, but it’s not Austin Butler. It’s not Elvis. His voice is different, his look is different.”
We’ll be able to see just how different when Dune: Part Two hits theatres.