Months ago, Austin Butler, this year’s film festival darling with his role in Elvis, was officially cast in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part II—in the role of sci-fi son-of-a-bitch, Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen.
To say much more about the character, or his role in the next film’s events, would be something of a spoiler. For those who haven’t read Frank Herbert’s Dune, half of which Villeneuve has faithfully adopted in his first Dune film, know this: Feyd sucks. He’s a petulant princely character and one of Paul Atreides’ principle antagonists, if only as his literary foil.
Dune: Part 2 began filming this summer. It’s expected to hit cinemas November 2023. In the lead-up to the film, Butler will no doubt be fielding leading questions he can’t answer. On a recent interview, however, he gave fans the first real tease for his much-hated character.
Butler told Josh Horowitz and MTV News that he was offered the role after having coffee with Villeneuve; no audition required. (Denis: “I would love for you to join me on Arrakis.”) Butler then teased some of his preparation for the role, which included training for four months—“just to get my body into a place where I can be a physically imposing presence.”
When asked if he ultimately liked the end result—the look of the character—Butler said, “yeah, I think it’s gonna be great,” before laughing.
Sting famously played the character in the 1984 David Lynch adaptation, appearing six-packed and sinewy. Butler likely took this physique into consideration, his own body type close to Sting’s.
For now, he says, we’ll have to just wait to find out.
Joshua St Clair is an Assistant Editor at Men's Health Magazine.