Because Denis Villeneuve opted for his first Dune movie to adapt just the first half of Frank Herbert’s original novel rather than the entire book, there was no guarantee he’d get to chronicle the second half. Fortunately, within days of Dune premiering in theaters and to HBO Max subscribers, the movie had performed well enough for Legendary and Warner Bros. to greenlight a sequel. Dune 2 has been rolling cameras since July, and while there’s still a ways to go until production’s done, Timothée Chalamet took a break from working in Jordan to do some Indiana Jones-esque sightseeing.
Like its predecessor, Dune 2, officially known as Dune: Part Two, is conducting some of its principal photography in Jordan. But all work and no play makes Paul Atreides a dull boy, and on that note, Timothée Chalamet revealed on his Instagram page that he paid a visit to Petra, the archaeological city located in Southern Jordan. Click over to the second picture to see the selfie Chalamet took.
If you’re an Indiana Jones fan, you’ll instantly recognize that location from 1989’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, with the Al-Khazneh structure serving as the entrance to the temple containing the Holy Grail. Petra has also been featured in movies like Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, The Mummy Returns and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and it was most recently spotlighted during The Amazing Race Season 34. While we won’t be seeing Petra in Dune 2, it’s nice that Timothée Chalamet got to see the landmark during his latest visit in Jordan.
Dune 2 marks the first time that Timothée Chalamet is playing the same film role more than once. In October, Chalamet said that he was “blindsided” by how big the first Dune was when he was working on it, and now that Paul Atreides “becomes more sure on his heels,” the actor feels the same way about himself in the midst of working on this follow-up. The ending of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune saw Paul and his mother, Rebecca Ferguson’s Lady Jessica, fleeing into the Arrakis desert after House Atreides’ Arrakeen stronghold is assaulted by Harkonnen and Sardaukar troops, and they eventually come across the Fremen tribe led by Javier Bardem’s Stilgar and including Zendaya’s Chani. The stage is now set for Dune 2 to follow Paul preparing to exact revenge on the people who overthrew House Atreides.
Along with the aforementioned actors, Dune 2’s features the return of Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck, Dave Bautista as Glossu Rabban, Charlotte Rampling as Gaius Helen Mohiam and Stephen McKinley Henderson as Thufir Hawaii. The newcomers in Dune 2’s cast include Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha, Christopher Walken as Emperor Shaddam IV, Léa Seydoux as Lady Margot and Souhelia Yacoub as Shishakli. Once shooting in Jordan is completed, the sequel's cast and crew will head to Abu Dhabi later this month.
Dune 2 is marked down for a November 3 premiere among the 2023 movie release dates. In the much nearer future, Timothée Chalamet can be seen acting opposite Taylor Russell and Mark Rylance in Bones and All, which opens wide on November 18.
