Variety has reported that Dave Bautista will join Legendary Entertainment’s upcoming Dune reboot. Bautista is the latest addition the cast, joining Timotheè Chamalet and Rebecca Ferguson.
Chamalet will be in the lead role of Paul Atreides, Ferguson as Paul’s mother the Lady Jessica, and THR is reporting that Bautista has been cast as “The Beast” Glossu Rabban Harkonnen, the sadistic and cruel nephew of the Baron Harkonnen, entrusted with overseeing the planet Arrakis. Rabban was known for his tyrannical rule through fear and terror, and for his lack of cunning, intelligence, and the ability to be an effective leader.
Denis Villeneuve has been tapped to direct and is cowriting the script with Eric Roth and Jon Spaihts. Villeneuve has stated that his goal is to adapt the novel into a two-part film series, and as of May 2018 the first draft has been finished.
“Most of the main ideas of Star Wars are coming from Dune so it’s going to be a challenge to [tackle] this. The ambition is to do the Star Wars movie I never saw. In a way, it’s Star Wars for adults.” said Villeneuve on the script.
Legendary Entertainment acquired the film and TV rights for Dune in November 2016. Greig Fraser joined the project as cinematographer. Producing is Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, Thomas Tull, and Kim Herbert, with Kevin J. Anderson serving as a creative consultant.
Set in the distant future, a feudal intergalactic empire exists in a state of constant intrigue centered around the desert planet Dune, the only place in the universe where the drug melange can be harvested. Commonly referred to as “spice,” melange enables interstellar space travel and civilization relies on it to survive. The young noble Paul Atreides and his family are sent to Dune to rule, and it’s here that his destiny is set in motion.
This will be the first time Denis Villeneuve and Dave Bautista have worked together since 2018’s Blade Runner 2049.
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