Director Denis Villeneuve's casting plans for his new adaptation of Frank Herbert's epic science fiction tome Dune just keep getting better. He's now found someone to play Reverend Mother Mohiam, with Charlotte Rampling ready to take on her powers.
Gaius Helen Mohiam is a Bene Gesserit Revered Mother, a powerful psychic truthsayer in the employ of the Emperor, who can divine intentions, suss out lies and manipulate people's emotional states. Dune's story finds the emperor betraying the noble house Atreides, one of the powerful families vying for control of the planet Arrakis and its vital, valuable spice drug.
Timothée Chalamet is playing Paul Atreides, the young heir of the family who is forced to flee into the desert, becoming a leader and powerful warrior among the natives. Rebecca Ferguson will be his mother, the Lady Jessica, a Bene Gesserit with her own powers, and Stellan Skarsgård has the role of the conniving Baron Harkonnen who plots with the galactic ruler to destroy the Atreides family. Dave Bautista, meanwhile is Glossou "Beast" Rabban, the baron's brute of a nephew.
Villeneuve will attempt to bring the sprawling story to life across at least one film, working from a script he's contributed to alongside Eric Roth and Jon Spaihts. Production is scheduled to kick off in Budapest and Jordan this spring. Rampling has a couple of films on the way, including Benedetta and Valley Of The Gods.
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