Dune 2 will introduce an important character, Feyd Rautha, to the story of Paul Atreides and casting Harry Styles in the role would continue a franchise tradition. With a 2023 release, people have been trying to predict whom Denis Villeneuve will cast in the pivotal roles of the sequel to his take on the story. Other major book characters to be introduced in Dune 2 include Princess Irulan and Paul’s younger sister Alia, but Feyd Rautha’s casting is perhaps more interesting given the history of the character both in the book and on film.
In Frank Herbert’s novel, Feyd Rautha is a foil to Paul as he is the heir of House Harkonnen, mortal enemies of Paul and the Atreides family. They are relatively close in age, extremely skilled fighters, and both determined that their respective family should come out on top of the feud between two. In a shocking reveal in the middle of Dune, it is revealed that Paul’s mother is related to the Harkonnens, making Paul and Feyd cousins.
Although Feyd is introduced to readers early on in the book, Villeneuve chose to leave him out of the first part of the film. The character plays a major role in the finale of the book, so his casting will be of the utmost importance to Dune 2. However, there has been an important tradition in the different film versions of Herbert’s book, which has been to cast a British rockstar in the role of Feyd Rautha. In keeping with this tradition, Harry Styles is the obvious choice for the role, given his own musical background.
As followers of the Dune legacy will know, English rocker Sting very memorably played Feyd Rautha in David Lynch’s poorly received version of the novel. Perhaps lesser known is that for Alejandro Jodorowsky’s unmade adaptation (although free images are available online), the Chilean-French director planned to cast Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger as the Harkonnen heir. Besides being the most famous British rockstar of the modern era, Styles is often compared to Jagger and has been heavily influenced by the elder performer’s stage persona.
The past directors of the Dune franchise must have associated the character with the general aura of rock stardom. Herbert never really provides a physical description of Feyd Rautha in the book; his incredible fighting ability seems to imply that he is in good shape. But he is portrayed in the novel as a ladies’ man and having an entourage of sorts, both of which are traits often ascribed to rockstars and of which Jagger, Sting, and Styles have all been associated to varying degrees.
Already cast in several major upcoming movies, Styles already has some impressive acting credits to his name; he played a supporting role as Alex in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk and has now followed that up with his MCU debut as Thanos’ brother Eros in The Eternals post-credit scene. Styles would also fit Feyd’s role as foil to Timothee Chalamet’s Paul, being of similar age and status in terms of real-life fame. Casting him in Dune 2 would challenge Styles by allowing him to play a more threatening character while still capitalizing on the opportunity to continue the franchise’s unlikely rockstar tradition.
Key Release Dates
Dune 2
Release Date:2023-11-03
