"Dune: Part 2" | Denis Villeneuve comments on Austin Butler's performance

Director defines actor's performance as that of a psychopathic assassin

As the sequel to the 2021 film, "Dune: Part 2" will feature a quite extensive cast, with some key additions compared to the first film. One of the new names in the production is Austin Butler (Elvis), who will portray the ruthless Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, a villain who will pose problems for Paul Atreides' revolution (Timothée Chalamet). The director of the film, Denis Villeneuve, revealed some new details about the antagonist to Empire magazine, which also unveiled an unseen image of the character alongside Lady Fenring (Léa Seydoux).

"Austin brought [Feyd-Rautha] a mix of a psychopathic killer, an Olympic fencer, a snake, and Mick Jagger," said Villeneuve, assuring that Butler will capture the audience's attention when the film premieres in 2024. "He has tremendous sex appeal, charisma, and madness. It's quite striking."

Although Lady Fenring has a minor role in Frank Herbert's books, Villeneuve hinted in the interview that he intends to give her a bit more prominence within the Bene Gesserit — although he doesn't want to reveal his plans for her just yet. "She's part of the Bene Gesserit spider web, but I want to keep the mystery around her."

Villeneuve also promised to give greater prominence to the secretive sisterhood, as they are, in a way, the true orchestrators of the events narrated in Herbert's books. "My version of Dune is different [from the books] because what really seduced me in the book were the Bene Gesserit," he stated. "My adaptation is more focused on their impact – they are the puppet masters of the universe!"

"Dune: Part 2" will be better than the first film, says Rebecca Ferguson "Dune 2" is much more ruthless, political, and intense, says Dave Bautista "Dune: Part 2" brings back several stars from the first film's stellar cast, including Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Dave Bautista, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin. Among the newcomers, notable names include Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, Austin Butler, and Tim Blake Nelson.