Here are all the new characters in Dune: Part Two and who’s playing them

All the hottest stars are dying to get into Hollywood’s most elite club. No, it’s not Soho House or the bar at the Chateau Marmont or even the Oscar nominees luncheon; it’s the Dune franchise. Or at least the first two films of what’s sure to become a larger franchise. Denis Villeneuve’s Oscar-winning 2021 adaptation of Frank Herbert’s celebrated novel starred Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Dave Bautista, and Stellan Skarsgård, to name a few. Who wouldn’t want to join a party with such an impressive guest list?

Now, Dune: Part Two is adding a few more names to the list, including Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken, and Léa Seydoux. In advance of the film’s opening on March 1, we’re taking a look at these new cast members, their characters, and the parts they’ll play in the sequel. The world of Dune is a complex web of political rivalries, religious sects, and military powers, so it can be a lot to take in. If you need a refresher on everything that’s happened so far, check out our primer on Dune: Part One.

Before we dip into the spice to see what prophetic visions of the future appear, there are a few things worth pointing out. If you’ve been following Dune news you may be aware that there’s one name missing from that list of new cast members. Ever since THR revealed that Tim Blake Nelson had been added to the cast without mentioning the character he’d be playing, fans have been speculating who it could be. As it turns out, it didn’t matter in the end. His role, rumored to be Count Fenring, was cut from the film. We were also looking forward to an expanded storyline for Stephen McKinley’s Thufir Hawat, as he has some meaty material in the book, but he too was edited out. And yes, we did include Anya Taylor-Joy on this list, so if you don’t want to be spoiled about the character she’s playing, you might want to click away before you get to the end.

Here’s what we know about everyone who did make it into the film:

Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen

You might remember Feyd-Rautha from David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation of Dune, played by a little-known actor named Gordon Sumner. Or, as he’s more commonly known, Sting. In that version, the character had a shock of red hair, a tan, and pearly white teeth he often flashed in a sadistic smirk. Austin Butler’s look in Dune: Part Two is very different. He has virtually no hair at all, pale white skin, and inky black teeth. It’s hard to believe this is the same actor who was nominated for an Oscar last year for his performance as Elvis Presley in Elvis. There’s no trace of the King in his voice either. Here, he skillfully mimics the accent and speech patterns of Stellan Skarsgård, who plays Feyd’s uncle, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen.

Feyd is set up as the diametrical opposite of Paul Atreides in many ways. He’s also from a noble house and has been conditioned for a future role as a leader. The Bene Gesserit Sisters even consider him as an alternative to Paul as the potential Kwisatz Haderach, the ultimate goal of a breeding program that’s been going on for generations. He’s the younger brother of Glossu Rabban (Dave Bautista), nicknamed Beast for his brutal and animalistic nature. Rabban is possibly the only Harkonnen who could make the psychotic Feyd look good in comparison, which is exactly what the baron is counting on. After slaughtering most of House Atreides at the end of Dune: Part One and taking back control of Arrakis, the baron left it in the hands of Rabban, knowing that he would be an ineffective and unpopular leader. After letting Rabban run the place into the ground for a while, he plans to depose him and replace him with Feyd, who will be greeted as a liberator. What he doesn’t count on is Paul’s survival and his resurgence as a messianic Fremon freedom fighter Muad’Dib.

Christopher Walken as Shaddam IV

We heard a lot about Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV in the first installment of Dune, now we’ll finally get to meet him in person, in the form of Christopher Walken. The emperor is the one who orchestrated the downfall of House Atreides by handing them control of Arrakis and the lucrative spice trade after 80 years of Harkonnen rule. Wary of the military power of House Atreides and the popularity of its leader, Duke Leto, among the other Great Houses, he used the centuries-long conflict between the rival houses as a cover to take them off the board. When the Harkonnens attacked they secretly brought with them the emperor’s own elite battle force, the Sardaukar. Should this fact come to light, it would be dangerous for the emperor to be seen taking sides in a conflict between two independent factions.

Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan

Irulan, played in the film by Florence Pugh, is the eldest of the emperor’s five daughters. Not only is she one of his closest advisors, she’s also a trained Bene Gesserit under the mentorship of Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling). After surviving the Harkonnen attack in the previous film, Paul expressed his intention to marry one of the emperor’s daughters as a bulwark against the Harkonnens’ power. But even then his attentions had started turning elsewhere, having just met Fremen fighter Chani (Zendaya), the literal woman of his dreams. This sets up a dilemma for Paul, who will have to choose between the most strategic political move and what his heart truly wants.

Léa Seydoux as Margot Fenring

Another important sister of the Bene Gesserit is Margot Fenring. We’ve seen footage of her spectating from the stands as Feyd-Rautha competes in a gladiatorial event in an arena on Giedi Prime, the homeworld of House Harkonnen. It’s likely she’s there to evaluate him as a potential Kwisatz Haderach candidate, as the Reverend Mother has already informed Jessica that they are looking at other prospects. If Paul has indeed perished on Arrakis, they’ll need to find a suitable replacement. And if he survived, he may become too powerful to control. Either way, it’s good to have a backup plan, and Margot is set to play a big part in that.

Anya Taylor-Joy as Alia Atreides

Lady Jessica is still carrying Paul’s unborn sister Alia when we meet up with her and Paul again in the new film. If the storyline follows the remainder of Herbert’s book, there isn’t time for her to become fully grown by the end of it. So, you may be wondering how Anya Taylor-Joy could have been cast to play her. Two things to remember—first, Paul has been having prophetic visions of the future, which have been getting more intense with his increased exposure to spice; and second, mysterious whispers and female voices are part of the soundscape of Dune. So Alia may appear in a more unconventional way. If Villeneuve gets around to making more Dune movies, and we certainly hope he does, she’ll become a much more pivotal figure in the mythology.