The Sleeper Has Awakened! Oscar Isaac To Play Duke Leto In Dune
by Erik Amaya
Oscar Isaac’s next intergalactic role will elevate him to royalty.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Star Wars veteran is in talks to play Duke Leto Atreides in Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Dune. Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel tells the tale of a human society in a far-flung future where feudal politics merge with mysticism and allegories for oil production. In the year 10,191 (which is something like 20,000 years from now thank to a calendar reset) Leto and his Noble House are ordered by the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV to take control of planet Arrakis and mine the most important commodity in the known universe: the spice melange. It is a fuel, life-extender and consciousness-expander. It is also only found on the one planet, which is occasionally referred to as Dune.
Because of its rarity, the noble houses of the Lansdraad, the actual company engaged in spice production, the Emperor and the one group capable of space travel engage in a complex game of deals and backstabbing to maintain the status quo. Leto hopes to upend the system by taking possession of Arrakis despite knowing it must be a trap to wipe him off the board.
Isaac joins Timothee Chalamet, who will play his son Paul, and Rebecca Feguson, who will play Paul’s mother and Leto’s royal concubine. Other castmembers include Stellan Skarsgard as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen — the principle antagonist — Dave Bautista as the Baron’s cruel nephew Rabban and Charlotte Rampling as the Reverend Mother Helen Gaius Mohiam, head of another faction with their own agenda and need for the spice.
The film will begin production soon, but it is unclear when it will be released.
