So far, it appears like DuneWarner Bros. director Denis Villeneuve and Warner Bros. were everything they claimed to be It was hoped that it would be. Both in theaters and on HBO Max it’s been a success, enough so that the almost necessary sequel has Officially given a welcomelight. A lot of the credit can go to the phenomenal cast, especially Timothée Chalamet in the lead as Paul Atreides. The director says there was one early scene that showed him he’d cast the right person in that role.
Timothée Chalamet and Denis Villeneuve both sat down to speak with A.V. ClubAbout DuneIn the conversation, the director revealed the scene that made him absolutely certain that he had made a good decision. casting Paul Atreides. This was an early scene from the movie. Vileneueve claims that Paul was actually dancing behind the camera. According to the director…
The truth is out there. The thing is, there’s a scene that we shot right at the beginning of the shoot called the Gom Jabbar scene. We enter a strange, unintentional, and transformative state. When we shot the scene, I witnessed Timothee become Timothee. When I saw the power he had for the character, I was able to see Paul Atreides become something else. When that happened, Timothee didn’t see, but I was dancing behind the camera.
This scene is a crucial moment in the story. Paul Atreides is made to suffer extreme pain and even die in a religious test. It’s a key moment in the story as it shows us a great deal about the person Paul is and the world he is part of. It was a key moment in the story for Denis Villeneuve. A key moment too, because he realized he hadn’t made a crucial mistake, and he even drops an F-bomb in his excitement. He continues…
I was like ‘Oh god, this is so great. He is so powerful. I am so deeply happy. Thank you to the gods of cinema. I didn’t fuck it up!’ I cast the right Paul Atreides.
Casting is a difficult task. You’ll always have multiple actors who certainly have the necessary skills to play the role, but being able to decide who the right performer truly is must be difficult. We’ll always wonder how certain roles might have turned out if they’d been Played by others. Perhaps they could have done better if someone else had been chosen. They could have done worse. This is a question that will never be answered if there are other casting options. The director of this film is Dune doesn’t seem to have any doubts..