See Dune: Part Two stars enter the desert in exclusive set photos

Timothée Chalamet

The first Dune film only told part of Paul Atreides’ story, and star Timothée Chalamet relished the opportunity to continue his character’s epic transformation from noble heir to revolutionary leader. “I wanted to bring justice not just to the arc of Paul, but also to Dune,” Chalamet tells Entertainment Weekly in our Dune: Part Two cover story.

Josh Brolin and Timothée Chalamet

Just as Paul Atreides learned his skills from veteran warriors like Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin), Chalamet says his performance improved between the two Dune films with help from his collaborators.

“They know instinctively how to exist in a movie of this size and really bring a strong presence, while also keeping the naturalism alive and believable," Chalamet says of his costars. "That’s something I feel like I achieved more on this one, where on the first one it was a new skill set for me.”

Zendaya and Denis Villeneuve

In contrast to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy (which filmed all of its installments at the same time), the two halves of Villeneuve’s Dune adaptation were produced a few years apart. After surviving another round in the desert, the director now thinks that was the best possible choice. 

“My first thought was to shoot both movies back to back together, but now I think I would have died,” Villeneuve tells EW. “It was really intense, and seeing how the world reacted to Part One was a boost of positive energy to go back into the desert.”

Zendaya

After the first Dune hit theaters, some viewers complained that there wasn’t enough of Zendaya, who plays the Fremen warrior Chani. Those fans should rest assured that Chani has a much meatier role in Part Two — and makes an even stronger impression than she does in the book.

“Something that I really appreciated about what Denis did with Chani is he does give her her own convictions and heart,” Zendaya says.

Rebecca Ferguson

Dune is not just the story of Paul Atreides, but also the people around him who make him who he is. Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) was a major character in the first film, and Villeneuve did not want her presence to diminish as much as it does in the back half of Herbert’s novel. 

“In the second part of the book, Chani and Lady Jessica are a bit more in the background — which I didn't like, because I am absolutely in love with both characters,” Villeneuve says. “I felt it was more meaningful to give them more substance and presence, their own agendas.”

Javier Bardem

In order to fully inhabit Fremen characters such as Stilgar, Dune: Part Two stars including Javier Bardem studied the fictional language of Chakobsa. Though originally sketched out by Herbert in the Dune novels, Chakobsa was developed into a complete vocabulary including a pronunciation guide by linguist David J. Peterson, who has also worked on Game of Thrones. In Villeneuve’s words: “All the actors went to Fremen school!”

Florence Pugh

Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) is one of the iconic characters from the Dune novel finally making her onscreen entrance in Part Two. Villeneuve says he cast the Oscar-nominated Little Women star because “I love actors who are good listeners.” Pugh notes that this is a little out of the ordinary for her: “I think this might be one of the quietest characters I've ever played. But what I loved about the script is that she's constantly listening and constantly aware.”

Austin Butler

After portraying the King, Austin Butler now plays a dark prince. But in addition to being a dangerous rival to Chalamet’s Paul Atreides, Butler’s Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen is also a rock star in his own right. "He’s like a psychopath swordmaster mixed with Mick Jagger,” Villeneuve says. “There’s something about that sex appeal that is almost a weapon.” 

Butler read Dune years ago and was very excited by Villeneuve’s ideas for the character. “The way Denis described, it was so much darker than I had even read in the novel,” Butler tells EW. “It was just so delicious, I couldn't say no.”