Timothée Chalamet has spent the entire fall filming Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part 2,” so his raves for co-stars Zendaya and Florence Push were extra fresh when the Oscar nominee sat down for an interview as part of Variety’s “Bones and All” cover. Chalamet is reprising the role of Paul Atreides, while Pugh is a newcomer to the franchise as Princess Irulan. The two actors are hardly strangers, having starred together in Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women,” for which Pugh earned her first Oscar nomination in 2020.
“We were joking on set that we keep doing these movies, and we end up together even though we should be ending up with different people,” Chalamet said, referring to how Paul romances Irulan despite Zendaya’s Chani being his true soulmate. It’s a similar set up as “Little Women,” in which Chalamet’s Laurie pines for Jo (Saoirse Ronan) but eventually marries Pugh’s Amy.
“Florence is really special,” Chalamet said. “She’s an incredible actor. She was incredible in ‘Dune’ — seriously incredible. She brought a gravitas to the role. And I can’t believe my good fortune at this young age…between Taylor Russell in ‘Bones and All’ and Zendaya in ‘Dune.’ And Austin Butler’s in that movie too.” He added that Pugh has now wrapped on “Dune: Part 2.”
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Zendaya and Chalamet starred together in the first “Dune,” which grossed $401 million at the worldwide box office and earned 10 Oscar nominations, including best picture. Zendaya’s role as Chani was a small supporting role in “Dune,” but the character becomes a co-protagonist in “Dune: Part 2.”
“She hasn’t wrapped yet, and it’s amazing,” Chalamet told Variety. “She’s bringing exactly what she brought to the first one — which was incredible — but in greater abundance. And she’s really become a sister. I’m so grateful to count her as a partner and a sister and a friend, and also to share stories about how amazing it is to work with Luca, because we worked with him back to back on wildly different projects.”
Chalamet is referencing the fact that Zendaya collaborated with Guadagnino on “Challengers,” a romantic comedy set in the tennis world. The film is now in postproduction.
The official “Dune: Part 2” synopsis from Warner Bros. and Legendary reads: “This follow-up film will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.”
Warner Bros. is opening “Dune: Part 2” in theaters Nov. 3, 2023.
