Austin Butler Trained for Four Months for 'Dune: Part 2'

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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 theaters 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.

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