Why The Cast Of Dune: Part Two Looks So Familiar

The wait for the highly anticipated "Dune: Part Two" is nearly over, and the second chapter will see Denis Villeneuve returning as director, producer, and co-writer of the screenplay — adapted from the novel by Frank Herbert. The first crack at adapting "Dune" back in the '80s by David Lynch was an undisputed failure and part of its undoing may have been biting off more than it could chew within a two-hour-seventeen-minute runtime.

Rather than making the same mistake and trying to cram the massive 896-page book into a single film, Villeneuve instead opted to chop the story in half and make two separate movies out of it. If "Dune: Part Two" is a success, Villeneuve also plans to adapt the sequel novel, "Dune Messiah," which is much shorter than the first book and can likely be contained within a single film. Time (and box office results) will tell if Villeneuve is able to complete his trilogy, or if he or the studio will continue adapting other books in the series afterward. There is plenty of source material to pull from with six books in Herbert's original series and as many as 25 books if you count all of the "Dune" novels written by other authors after Herbert stopped writing them.

Regardless of what follows, "Dune: Part Two" is next on the horizon, so let's take a look at both the new and returning cast members and break down where you may have seen them before.

Playing the role of Lady Jessica Atreides is Rebecca Ferguson. Another returning cast member from the first movie, Ferguson is interestingly only about 12 years older than Timothée Chalamet, who plays her on-screen son, Paul Atreides. The Swedish actress is likely best recognized as being a part of the "Mission: Impossible" series. She might have only joined the series in its fifth movie, but her character of Ilsa Faust instantly became an essential ingredient in "Rogue Nation," and "Fallout," and she will appear again in the upcoming two-part "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning."

Ferguson got her start on the Swedish television series "Nya Tider" before joining the cast of the Swedish-American co-production "Ocean Ave." Her biggest break arrived in 2013 when she was cast as the lead on the Starz original series "The White Queen." The show may have been canceled after just one season, but it was enough for Tom Cruise to personally pick her as an exciting up-and-comer to join the "Mission: Impossible" series. Since joining the cast of that blockbuster franchise, Ferguson has also appeared in movies such as "Florence Foster Jenkins," "Men in Black: International," "The Greatest Showman," and "Doctor Sleep," in which she played the memorable main villain, Rose the Hat.

In "Dune: Part Two," Dave Bautista reprises his role as Count Glossu Rabban, part of the villainous House Harkonnen. Compared to some of the other cast members, Bautista took an unusual path to a career as a movie star and first rose to stardom as a wrestler by becoming one of the top stars in the WWE. His first non-wrestling acting job was a brief appearance on the CW series "Smallville" back in 2006, but it wasn't until 2012 — when he appeared in the action movie combo of "The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption" and "The Man with the Iron Fists" — that he began acting in major roles on a consistent basis.

When he landed the role of Drax in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" series, Bautista was able to flex his comedic side and began to earn more respect as a legitimate actor. Over the last few years, Bautista has had many notable roles in the likes of the James Bond film "Spectre," "Army of the Dead," "Glass Onion," and the kung fu movie "Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy" in which he played the main villain. Bautista first worked with director Denis Villeneuve on "Blade Runner 2049" before joining the "Dune" cast. "Dune: Part Two" is set to be Bautista's third major release of 2023 after both "Knock at the Cabin" and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3."

At just 26 years old, Zendaya has already accomplished more than some actors do in their entire careers. After a successful modeling career in her childhood, Zendaya pivoted to acting and appeared on numerous Disney Channel TV shows such as "Good Luck Charlie" and "A.N.T. Farm" as well as taking the lead in Disney shows "Shake It Up" and "K.C. Undercover." Around the same time as she began acting, Zendaya also began releasing music as a solo artist. Her first, and so far only, full-length album was released in 2013 but she has also contributed to the soundtracks of many of the projects that she has acted in like "Smallfoot," "Euphoria," and "The Greatest Showman."

Zendaya's first feature film was the blockbuster superhero movie "Spider-man: Homecoming" as the new MJ, and she reprised the role in both of the sequels. Many will be most familiar with Zendaya from her starring role on HBO's "Euphoria." Her performance as Rue turned her into the youngest-ever Emmy winner in the lead drama actress category, a feat which she pulled off twice for the show's two seasons. With "Euphoria" creator Sam Levinson writing and directing, Zendaya made her feature film debut as a producer in 2021 with "Malcolm & Marie," in which she also starred. Zendaya played Chani in "Dune" but only arrived at the tail end of the movie, however, her role in "Dune: Part Two" is bound to be drastically expanded.

Charlotte Rampling is also returning from the first movie to play Reverend Mother Mohiam in "Dune: Part Two." Rampling has been acting since the mid-1960s and has shown no signs of slowing down even as she approaches 80 years of age. If anything, her career has aged like a fine wine as many of her most recognizable roles have arrived within the last couple of decades. She earned her first Emmy nomination in 2013 for "Restless" and her first Oscar nomination in 2016 for "45 Years," consistently reaffirming her status as one of the most respected actors of her generation.

Movies like "Melancholia," "The Verdict," "The Little Stranger," and "Benedetta" have provided some of Rampling's best roles, while the less well-received — but still popular — movies like "Red Sparrow" and "Assassin's Creed" have also made use of her talents. Some of her most recognizable roles in recent years have been found in the world of television with the mini-series "London Spy," the murder-mystery "Broadchurch," which she joined in the second season, and "Dexter," in which she played the titular character's probing neuropsychiatrist, Dr. Evelyn Vogel. Her most recent television project has brought her to Denmark for two seasons on the detective series "DNA."

Stephen McKinley Henderson played a brief but memorable role in the first "Dune" as Thufir Hawat, an important member of House Atreides. In the source material, he is eventually forced into switching sides and working for the Harkonnens, which gives an idea as to what viewers can expect in "Dune: Part Two."

Henderson has been acting in movies and television since 1979 but mostly on a sporadic basis. There are huge gaps between Henderson's film and television roles, but that doesn't mean he wasn't acting elsewhere during that time. Henderson is best known as a two-time Tony-nominated stage actor and has been a part of many acclaimed Broadway plays such as "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" and "Fences," which were both adapted into feature films. The latter also featured Henderson in the big-screen adaptation alongside Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, his same co-stars from the stage version.

In 2016, Henderson began performing in feature films on a more consistent basis. After playing a memorable role in "Manchester by the Sea," he was cast in "Lady Bird" in 2017 and has kept up a more regular output since. He appeared briefly on the shows "Fear the Walking Dead," "The Blacklist," and "Run" and in a major recurring role in the mini-series "Devs." In the last couple of years, he played a recurring role on the Hulu series "Wu-Tang: An American Saga," the Oscar-nominated "Causeway," and the divisive Ari Aster film "Beau is Afraid."

Also coming onto the scene for "Dune: Part Two" is Florence Pugh. The actor plays Princess Irulan Corrino, one of five daughters of Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV who becomes the symbolic wife of Paul Atreides while also embroiled in complex power-grab plots behind the scenes.

Few actors have enjoyed such a fast trip to stardom as Florence Pugh, and while she has only been acting for around 10 years, she has already become one of the film industry's most sought-after leading ladies. Many viewers will most closely associate Pugh with her impressive lead performance in "Midsommar," but she had already been in movies like "Lady Macbeth," "The Commuter," and "Outlaw King" by this point, and played the lead role in the Park Chan-wook mini-series "The Little Drummer Girl." 

The same year as "Midsommar," 2019, Pugh also played one of the lead roles in Greta Gerwig's version of "Little Women," which earned Pugh her first Academy Award and BAFTA nominations. Soon after, she joined the MCU as Yelena Belova in both "Black Widow" and the "Hawkeye" television series. Her 2022 film "Don't Worry Darling" was controversial for a number of reasons, but Pugh's performance was routinely singled out by critics as the film's greatest attribute. Alongside "Dune: Part Two," Pugh is also set to appear in Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer," another huge movie in 2023.

Tim Blake Nelson has been confirmed as a new addition to the cast of "Dune: Part Two" but his character is the only one that has yet to be revealed. Most "Dune" fans speculate that he will be playing the significant role of Count Hasimir Fenring, the husband of Lady Margot Fenring. There is a smaller but not impossible chance that he will be playing the role of Scytale from the Bene Tleilax instead. This second option is less likely since Scytale doesn't appear until the second book, but as Villeneuve has announced that he plans to eventually adapt "Dune Messiah" as well, he may move some pieces around to better suit the flow of his trilogy.

Regardless of which character he plays, Tim Blake Nelson is sure to leave a large impression. Nelson is an under-appreciated character actor who has given many great supporting and leading performances over the years. His two most easily recognizable roles have both come courtesy of the Coen Brothers, playing Delmer in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and the singing titular character in "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs." Audiences are also likely to recognize him from recent projects like "Just Mercy," "Nightmare Alley," and the HBO TV series version of "Watchmen" in which he played Looking Glass, the mirror-mask-wearing vigilante. His most recent role was in "Ghosted" alongside stars like Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Adrien Brody, and Ryan Reynolds.

Anton Valensi, who is frequently credited under the name Anton Saunders, is a new member of the "Dune: Part Two" cast and is filling the role of a commander within the Harkonnen army. Valensi began acting in 1999 with a supporting role in Michael Winterbottom's BAFTA-nominated "Wonderland." His second movie, "Gangster No. 1," was another huge project which found him acting opposite Paul Bettany, David Thewlis, and Malcolm McDowell.

As his career has gone on, Valensi has gone through some ups and downs. He still occasionally lands a substantial role in a good project but also takes on many unnamed bit parts and frequently stars in seldom-seen short films. He appeared in small, unnamed roles in big shows like "Call the Midwife," "Downton Abbey," "Wallander," and "Andor." In between all the bit parts, Valensi has played more significant roles in "Luther," "Wire in the Blood," "The Last Kingdom," the 2007 version of "Oliver Twist," the 2019 mini-series version of "Les Misérables," and the long-running British soap opera "EastEnders" — in which he has played three different characters throughout the years. He also had small roles in movies like Guy Ritchie's "RocknRolla" and "Vengeance is Mine."