Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune’ Adaptation Adds Cast Members and Behind the Scenes Folks

When last we heard about Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Dune this past July, he had found his Paul Atreides in the form of soon-to-be-twice Oscar nominated actor Timothée Chalamet. Well, things have progressed a bit since then, and he has added some brilliantly selected new cast members and technical folks he's worked with before.

First up, Stellan Skarsgård has signed on to play Baron Harkonnen, the disgusting, boil-covered, floating pig man who has had a resurgence these last few years thanks to his many similarities with our current president. This is about the best bit of casting imaginable, because despite Skarsgård's attempts to rehabilitate his image in the Mamma Mia and Thor movies, the dude excels at playing creepy sex criminals, and has played them so often and so well that it makes me wonder about him. J/K, love you Stellan, you're the best!

Also this week, IndieWire broke the news that Villeneuve was re-teaming with Joe Walker, his editor on Sicario, Arrival, and BR2049. Walker also did some brilliant editing work on this year's Widows, and his willingness to work with Villeneuve again points toward a good working relationship between the two.

I don't know about you, but I think this adaptation is shaping up to be pretty great. It'll never compare to what Alejandro Jodorowsky's Dune would have been, but I'm almost willing to bet it'll be a better overall movie than his or Lynch's.