Dune 2 Casts Christopher Walken As Emperor Of The Universe
Christopher Walken has been officially cast as the Emperor in Dune: Part Two. Dune, which adapted the first half of the classic Frank Herbert sci-fi novel of the same name, came out in theaters and simultaneously on HBO Max in October 2021 and was successful enough on both platforms to be greenlit for a follow-up. It also doubled down on its success with a golden run at the 2022 Academy Awards, sweeping the technical categories to take home six trophies total. Dune 2 is set to begin production this fall with an eye toward release on October 20, 2023.
The Emperor played an unseen but massively important role in the first Dune film. He was the person who decreed that Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac) be sent to rule over Arrakis, knowing that it would cause a rift between House Atreides and House Harkonnen, which is run by the venal Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård). Now that the rift has caused an all-out siege of the Atreides holdings on Arrakis, the second film will follow Leto's son Paul (Timothée Chalamet) as he ingratiates himself with the local Fremen community and fights back against the planet's invaders.
Related: The Best Part Of Dune's Chosen One Story Is What Star Wars Ignored
Per Deadline, Walken has been cast as the Emperor, whose full title is Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV of House Corrino. The role was previously played in David Lynch's 1984 adaptation of Dune by José Ferrer, who has previously collaborated with Walken in 1977's The Sentinel. Walken is joining a star-studded cast that also includes Black Widow's Florence Pugh and Elvis' Austin Butler.
Walken is an iconic actor who is best known for his roles in films including 1983's The Dead Zone, 1990's The King of New York, and 1994's Pulp Fiction. He
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