EXCLUSIVE: Striking while the iron’s hot following her critically acclaimed performances at the recent Cannes Film Festival, Denis Villeneuve has tapped Léa Seydoux play Lady Margot in Warner Bros. and Legendary’s Dune: Part Two. Seydoux is currently in negotiations and will join the all-star ensemble that includes Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya and Josh Brolin, who are expected to reprise their roles, as well Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken and Austin Butler, who were also recently announced. Villeneuve is back to write, direct and produce. Spaihts will return to co-write with Villeneuve.
Legendary had no comment. Production is expected to start in the fall, with the film set to bow on October 20, 2023. Mary Parent, Villeneuve, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe, and Patrick McCormick. The executive producers are Josh Grode, Herbert W. Gains, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, Kim Herbert, Thomas Tull, Jon Spaihts, Richard P. Rubinstein, and John Harrison, with Kevin J. Anderson serving as creative consultant.
In Herbert’s novel, the Lady Margot character is a long-standing servant of the Sisterhood.
Even with Dune: Part One going day-and-date on HBO Max, the film was still able to thrive in theaters with an opening weekend of $41 million, which exceeded expectations and led to a quick greenlight for a sequel weeks later. The film has grossed $400 million at the worldwide box office to date including $108 million domestically. It also recently racked up 10 Oscar nominations including Best Picture and would eventually take home 5 Oscars.
As for Seydoux, the French actress recently had yet another string of films bow at this year’s festival which included David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future as well as Mia Hansen Love’s One Fine Morning. This comes off her 2021 Cannes where she starred in several films for the festival which included France, Deception and Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch. On top of that she reprised her role as James Bond’s true love in the most recent 007 pic No Time To Die. She is repped by Agence Adquat and UTA.
