Dune: Part 2 — After Florence Pugh, Austin Butler in talks to join Denis Villeneuve's sequel

Austin Butler is reportedly being considered for the role of Feyd-Rautha, the nephew of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) and the heir to the Harkonnen empire in Dennis Villeneuve's Dune: Part 2. 

A source close to the development told Variety that the actor is in "the very early stages" of being cast in the role. This news comes right after it was revealed that Florence Pugh is going to board the film as Princess Irulan.

Dune: Part 2 will see Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya and Javier Bardem reprise their roles from the predecessor. 

The Warner Bros film, which is eyeing for an October 20, 2023 release, is expected to go on floors in summer this year. 

Variety writes that Feyd-Rautha has previously been portrayed by the musician Sting in David Lynch's 1984 film adaptation.

Dune is based on Frank Herbert's novel of the same name. At the Venice Film Festival premiere, the sci-fi spectacle received an eight-minute standing ovation. 

After its release, the film made $400 million at the global box office and went on to grab 10 Oscar nominations including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Butler will be next seen in Baz Luhrmann’s musical biopic Elvis, which also stars Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager; Maggie Gyllenhaal as Presley's mother, Gladys Presley; and Rufus Sewell as the music icon's father, Vernon Presley.

Meanwhile, Dune is set to premiere on US platform HBO Max on March 10, a few days before the Oscars' final voting.

Also read — Dune review: Director Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel is a flawed cinematic wonder