Dune 2: Florence Pugh and Austin Bulter stun fans with jaw-dropping new looks

Fans are loving the new looks that Austin Butler and Florence Pugh debuted as part of the promotion for Dune 2.

It’s time to head back to the desert as Denis Villeneuve, director and writer of Dune: Part One and Two, exclusively dropped the first look at the second part of his science fiction masterpiece.

Based on the 1965 novel by Frank Herbert, Dune is set in the distant future where Duke Leto Atreides accepts stewardship of the Arrakis, a harsh desert planet that houses the universe’s most valuable resources. While on the planet, Leto, his wife, Jessica, and their son, Paul, soon become entangled in a war over the resource that threatens the future of their world.

While some the of Dune: Part One’s cast will be returning for the upcoming film, Austin Bulter and Florence Pugh are amongst the newcomers. And now we’ve received our first look at their characters.

Florence Pugh debuts a look fit for royalty

Fresh off the heels of Black Widow and Hawkeye, two of the biggest Marvel hits of Phase 4, Pugh was cast in Dune: Part Two as the intelligent and witty Princess Irulan Corrino, daughter of Shaddam IV, the Emperor of House Corrino, who will be played by Christopher Walken.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Villeneuve described Pugh’s character as, “[Someone whose] stake could not be higher because she’s afraid that her father could lose the throne, could lose everything.” 

Timothée Chalamet, who is reprising his role as Paul Atreides in Part Two, praised Pugh for during her time on the Dune set.

When he sat down with Variety while doing press for the movie Bones and All, Chalamet referred to Pugh as “really special.” He went on to express that she’s an “incredible actor” and “brought a gravitas to the role [in Dune].”

This isn’t the first time Chalamet and Pugh have starred in a film together as they both worked on Greta Gerwig’s 2019 reboot of Little Women.

It’s incredibly ironic how, in Dune: Part Two, the pair will be in a faux sort of romance as Chalamet’s character’s true soulmate is Chani, played by Zendaya, which is the same situation their characters in Little Women were in as well. It will be fun to see their chemistry on the big screen once again.

Austin Butler’s transformation is downright devious

Fans might see Butler as the shy teenager from Hannah Montana or the powerhouse singer Elvis from the self-titled biopic, but the actor seems ready to channel his villainous side as he steps into the role of Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, the nephew of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, played by Stellan Skarsgård.

Butler’s character is the one helping engineer the conflict that Pugh’s character is worried about.

Butler’s new bald look had been a source of conversation amongst Dune fans after members of the press were shown footage of Dune: Part Two at CinemaCon.

According to Gizmodo, Butler was described as “a deadly assassin with bright white skin and no hair. His scenes seem to look almost completely black and white.”

This prompted one Reddit user to repost a poster they created for Butler’s character a year ago and it’s almost scary how accurate it is now knowing that the actor will be bald in the film.

In the above mentioned Vanity Fair article, Villeneuve praised Butler’s performance saying, “[He] brought to the screen something that would be a cross between a psychotic, sociopath serial killer and Mick Jagger.” This sentiment seems to be echoed by early reviews of Butler’s performance as Discussing Films editor Andrew J. Salazar tweeted the actor looked “extremely menacing and almost monstrous.”

As Butler is not known for his presence as villain in any of the movie roles he’s taken so far, it’ll be interesting to see him take up the mantle of an heir on the warpath to destroy an entire civilization.

Other Dune 2 cast members show off their eccentric looks

Pugh and Butler were not the only new characters whose looks debuted through Vanity Fair. Though their characters are not new to the franchise, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, and Dave Bautista all debuted new looks for their characters.

But another newcomer, Léa Seydoux who will play Lady Margot, also showed off a first look at her character. Margot is a member of the Bene Gesserit, a religious group of women who secretly control and shape the political events through the Dune universe. Her character is also a close friend of the Emperor.

That’s all we’ve seen of the new characters from Dune: Part 2. The film is set to hit theaters November 3rd, 2023, but we will update this page as more information comes out. In the meantime, you can check out more of our TV & movies coverage here.