Movies

Javier Bardem joins ‘Dune’ reboot as the Fremen leader Stilgar

Denis Villenueve is assembling an incredibly talented cast.

February 1, 2019

The secret is officially out — Denis Villenueve is making a serious attempt at assembling one of the best casts ever. Javier Bardem, everyone’s favorite psychopathic assassin from No Country for Old Men, has signed on to Villeneuve’s Dune reboot in the role of the Fremen leader Stilgar.

Timotheè Chamalet leads the cast in the role of Paul “Maud’Dib” Atreides, the outlaw duke and Fremen messiah. Bardem will star alongside Chamalet as the Fremen Stilgar, the leader of one of the Fremen tribes who becomes friend and mentor to Maud’Dib.

Rounding out the rest of the cast is Jessica Ferguson (The White Queen) as Paul’s mother the Lady Jessica, Zendaya (Spider-Man: Homecoming) as Chani, Oscar Issac (Star Wars) as Duke Leto Atreides, Stellan Skarsgard as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, and Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy) as Glossu “The Beast” Rabban.

Dune is adapted from the novel of the same name by Frank Herbert and is legendary within the sci-fi community. Legendary Entertainment acquired the film and TV rights in November 2016. Villenueve will direct and co-wrote the script with Eric Roth and Jon Spaihts.

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.

Dune is eyeing to begin shooting principle photography in Budapest and Jordan starting this spring.