Despite what Ross Douthat might tell you, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune (or Dune: Part One), is an incredible cinematic experience, one that succeeded in capturing the greatness of Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-epic of the same name where David Lynch’s attempt failed. Its main flaw is that it ends rather abruptly. As I wrote in my review:
Frank Herbert’s novel is expansive, and Lynch’s attempt to compress it into a single film was one of the many factors that led to his failure. Villeneuve’s solution to this problem was essentially to bisect the story. As a result, Dune does not end at a true climax, but rather a contrived one that leaves countless questions in the narrative unanswered. This is a defect on its own terms, in this sense, even as a divided adaptation. When, after this climax, I got a credits sequence, what I really wanted was an intermission. The true way to experience Dune, as Villeneuve has adapted it, would be to see both parts at once, Lawrence of Arabia–style, as I hope to do one day.
The bisection also left key roles uncast, as the story shown in last year’s film eschewed them. So, as the production of Dune: Part Two proceeds, we have been left to speculate about some of those roles, such as Paul Atreides foil Feyd Rautha Harkonnen (played by Sting in the Lynch version) and Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV (played by José Ferrer, the only actor in both the Lynch Dune and Lawrence of Arabia). Shaddam is the imperial overlord who sits atop the future-feudal structure set against Paul in Dune. Austin Butler (no relation), who played a Manson Family cult leader in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and is set to portray Elvis in an upcoming Baz Luhrmann film, looks like the choice for Feyd. (In keeping with the Sting casting, I’d have preferred Harry Styles, or perhaps Justin Bieber.)
As for the Emperor . . . it looks like, we’re, getting, Christopher, Walken! That’s right: Per Variety, the storied actor, who is known to edit all punctuation out of the scripts for his movies so that, his dialogue, achieves, its, trademark . . . authenticity, has been cast in this imperial role. And I’m not sure how to feel about it. Truth be told, I’m not sure who would be a good fit for this character. It must be someone larger than life, and Walken certainly fills that bill; I could be persuaded that he rules the universe. But the character’s rule is also threatened by Paul, and Walken will have to sell that as well. Nor can the portrayal be undercut by comedic elements, however serious Walken’s chops in that area may be. The casting choice reminds me somewhat of placing similarly, vocally, uh, distinct, actor Jeff Goldbum in the superficially comparable role of the Grandmaster in Thor: Ragnarok. But the Emperor is a different beast.
It’s a weird choice, but this is going to be — and should be — a weird movie, so it may work. At any rate, I am certainly interested in seeing how Walken does in the role when the movie comes out on October 20, 2023 — not that I am paying obsessive attention to its release date or anything.