It seems like everyone who’s anyone has already been a part of filmmaker Denis Villeneuve’s Oscar and box office favorite Dune, or plans to be in the future. Since Dune was only the first part of a two-movie adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi series-starter, we were left with a big cliffhanger and plenty of question marks. Some of those marks followed sentences like “Will Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya kiss?” and “When will the jihad start?” and “Desert…power?” But now at least one of those questions—”Who will play the Emperor’s daughter, Princess Irulan?”—has a potential answer: Florence Pugh.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the impeccable Pugh is circling the role based on a few factors. The first is that the script is still being written and she wants to see a new draft, while another is that she’s also after the highly competitive role of Madonna in her biopic. Scheduling and creative differences could still arise, but the sheer star power of Pugh, Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista and Javier Bardem is just…too much to handle.
Irulan was played by Virginia Madsen in David Lynch’s take on the property, but serves mostly as a narrator to the proceedings of the book until Herbert’s sequel, Dune Messiah. Still, it’s a major role: Running around with the Emperor of the Known Universe, acting as a key political player in Paul Atreides’ continued struggles—Pugh would be biting off a lot and setting the stage for more than just Dune: Part 2.
But there’s a lot up in the air between now and then. This’ll just be something to keep an eye on, especially for those who knowing that Pugh simply doesn’t miss.
Warner Brothers plans to release Dune: Part 2 on October 20, 2023.