The Empire Pod-Team will have to be on high alert if James Dyer is present this week – we have Dune casting news! Director Denis Villeneuve has not finished building his ensemble, and Chang Chen is joining the film.
Dune aims to tackle Frank Herbert's sprawling far-future tale of warring families, a desert planet and the giant sandworms that stalk its landscapes. The story finds the Atreides family, led by Oscar Isaac's Duke Leto, winning control of precious planet Arrakis, home to an ultra-valuable spice that has mind-altering power and also aids in interstellar navigation. But when the Atreides are betrayed by the Emperor and attacked by the Harkonnen forces (ruled by Stellan Skarsgård's Baron, backed up by enforcer/nephew Glossu "Beast" Rabban, to be played by Dave Bautista), the son of the family, Paul (Timothée Chalamet) flees with his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) into the harsh terrain.
Chen, a veteran of films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, has starred in films such as Mr. Long and 2018's Forever Young. He'll be Dr. Yueh, a physician working with the Atreides family. And he already has a connection with Villeneuve, serving with him on the Cannes Film Festival Jury last year.
Dune is scheduled to arrive on 20 November next year.
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