Austin Butler reveals the hard training he underwent to play the villain of ‘Dune: Part 2’

‘Dune’, the 2021 film adaptation of the homonymous literary work directed by Denis Villeneuve, was acclaimed by both specialized critics and the general public, thus definitively opening the doors to a second part. The sequel to this sci-fi story, which has finished filming, will be released in theaters on November 3, 2023 and will have the cruel Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) as its main antagonist.heir to the Harkonnen empire who will pose a serious threat to Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and company.

To prepare you for a role where physique is a key element and where you not only need to look a certain way, but also be able to tackle big physical challenges, Butler revealed in an interview with Backstage that he trained with a Navy Seal, a member of the US Navy’s main special operations force: “For ‘Dune’ there were different challenges, there were some physical aspects that from the first meeting with Denis I knew what his vision was. I worked with a Navy Seal who trained me for months so that my body would allow me to reach a place where I was not only an imposing physical presence, but also to do whatever was asked of me.

As if the demanding physical training itself wasn’t tough enough, Butler said he had to make it at the same time it was part of the ‘Elvis’ promotional tour: “The interesting thing was doing it in the middle of the ‘Elvis’ promotional tour. I did it up until the Cannes[Festival]I had to do the whole tour during the day and then train at night. It was something I had to get away with it. (During the filming of ‘Elvis’), I could completely eliminate everything in the outside world, but now I had to learn to do it in balance with other things.” Of course, what for anyone else would be torture, for Butler is something pleasant that he likes to do: “I love living in these other worlds… I just let myself be consumed,” says the actor in the interview.

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In addition to the incorporation of Austin Butler in the sequel to ‘Dune’ and the presence of some names from the first installment reprising their roles such as Zendaya, Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgård, Rebecca Ferguson and Dave Bautista, there are several new actors and actresses who they joined the saga. This is the case of Oscar nominee Florence Pugh, who will play Princess Irulan, veteran and Oscar winner Christopher Walken as Emperor Shaddam IVSouheila Yacoub as warrior Shishakli and Léa Seydoux as Lady Margot.

‘Duna’ it is Available on HBO Max.