Austin Butler in Dune 2 First Look: Feyd-Rautha's Bald Head Debuts
Austin Butler is bald and terrifying in the first look at the villainous Feyd-Rautha from Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two.” Butler, a recent Oscar nominee for his performance as Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis,” is one of the high profile new additions to the “Dune” cast along with Florence Pugh and Christopher Walken. Feyd-Rautha was previously played by Sting in David Lynch’s 1984 film adaptation.
Feyd-Rautha is the evil nephew of Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) and the brother of the sadistic Glossu Rabban, played by Dave Bautista in Villeneuve’s film franchise. The two brothers are in competition to become the Harkonnen family’s successor on the planet Arrakis.
In a first look at “Dune: Part Two” published on Vanity Fair earlier this month, Villeneuve only revealed Butler’s Feyd-Rautha from behind. The director said he was waiting for later in the film’s press tour to unveil Feyd-Rautha’s face, but now it has arrived online courtesy of trailer teaser. The official first trailer for “Dune: Part Two” arrives May 3, but a 44-second teaser debuts Butler’s shaved head as well as a new look at Florence Pugh’s Princess Irulan.
“He’s someone Machiavellian, much more cruel, much more strategic and is more narcissistic,” Villeneuve told Vanity Fair about Butler’s Feyd-Rautha.
“Rabban wants to please,” Villeneuve latter added about the differences between the two Harkonnen nephews. “He wants to please the baron. He wants to shine in front of his uncle, but there’s something touching about Rabban because he’s a bad strategist. He’s not very intelligent. Rabban finds himself, at the end of part one, in the position where he doesn’t have the brain to be able to manage and control all these operations. Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen is a very clever, very charismatic figure, and much more brilliant.”
Bautista told USA Today earlier this year that Butler shed his “Elvis” voice to take on his “Dune” character, adding, “I don’t know who this guy was, but it’s not Austin Butler. It’s not Elvis. His voice is different, his look is different. Everything about his demeanor is terrifying.”
“Dune: Part Two” is set for a theatrical release on Nov. 3.
Source: Variety
