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Along with leaving his stamp on the superhero genre by playing Apocalypse in X-Men: Apocalypse and Moon Knight in the character’s upcoming Disney+ series, Oscar Isaac is well-known for playing Poe Dameron in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy. Now Isaac finds himself in a different kind of science fiction setting, as he’s playing Duke Leto Atreides in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movie. But which of these does Isaac consider to be the best?
That’s just what Oscar Isaac’s Dune costar Rebecca Ferguson asked him while they spoke with CinemaBlend’s own Sean O’Connell, and Isaac quickly declared his pick: Star Trek. Ah, so he boldly took this conversation into a new direction that highlights another beloved sci-fi property. Joking aside, Isaac then talked about how when he joined Dune, he couldn’t help wondering how similar this and his time in Star Wars would be. As Isaac put it:
It’s true, you know, you see where all the… and not just in Star Wars, but in so, so many stories that have been influenced by Frank Herbert. And so that was really interesting to do. But [Dune] felt… when I first got there, I was like ‘Oh, what are the costumes going to look like? Am I right back in the thing?’ But [Dune’s] such a different vibe, tone… It doesn’t have the same quality, you know. And so that was really exciting to really feel like I was doing something quite different, even though there [were] elements that clearly inspired Star Wars.
It’s true, Dune was one of George Lucas’ main sources of inspiration for the first Star Wars movie, with Frank Herbert’s original novel having been published 12 years before audiences were introduced to characters like Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. This is arguably best exemplified by Tatooine looking quite similar to Arrakis, the only source of “spice” in the Dune universe. However, from Oscar Isaac’s perspective, there were enough differences in Denis Villeneuve’s take on Dune that it didn’t feel like this was just a rehash of his Star Wars experience.
Sean O’Connell also noted in the interview how Duke Leto Atreides has a line in Dune where he mentions how he wanted to be a pilot, which naturally leads one to remember how Poe Dameron flew in an X-Wing during The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. Oscar Isaac noted how there was talk about whether that line should stay in the movie, but they realized they have to just be “true to what you’re doing” and not to let the “external factors” interfere. Nevertheless, no doubt plenty of people will compare Leto to Poe after seeing Dune.
Oscar Isaac’s other Dune costars include Timothée Chalamet, Stellan Skarsgård, Josh Brolin, Jason Momoa, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Javier Bardem and Charlotte Rampling, to name a few. You can see how this latest adaptation of Frank Herbert’s source material turned out when Dune premieres both in theaters and on HBO Max October 22. If you’re interested in the latter option, be sure to take advantage of our subscription deal if you’re not already signed up for the streaming service.
