Do the Dune 2 cast like each other? Theories explained

Just like spice, gossip must flow – and people are getting really weird about the cast of Dune: Part Two, with many believing they don’t actually like each other.

The first part of Denis Villeneuve’s epic, ambitious sci-fi adaptation boasted one of the strongest ensembles of the decade so far: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem, and others.

They’ve (mostly) reprised their roles in the sequel, with a few extra big hitters joining the cast, including Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken, Austin Butler, and Léa Seydoux.

The stars are currently being paraded and herded across the globe for Dune 2’s press tour, forced to put on a happy face for countless interviews and TV appearances. Now, fans have a suspicion that they may not like each other all that much.

Dune 2 interviews spark theory about cast

The cast recently appeared on Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show, where they were asked if they socialize with each other outside of work-mandated events. “Yeah, we interact on talk shows like these… we’re almost comfortable,” Chalamet joked, before clarifying he has “great friendships with everyone” and Zendaya even helped him set up his “teenage boy” apartment in New York.

Somehow, people have watched this clip (plus a wildly speculative TikTok that alleges that the cast “tolerate” Butler) and suggested that “something’s up”, based on their body language and answers.

“Zendaya was making faces while Timothee was saying they are close. I don’t think she is close with him at all any more. I don’t blame her either. I mean look at who he’s dating,” one Redditor claimed. “I just have this feeling he wanted to date Zendaya and she passed on him. So that’s probably made their relationship even more awkward. He seems a touch arrogant. You have to be to date a Kardashian/Jenner,” another commented.

“I can imagine Florence feeling awkward with Austin, Timothée and Zendaya. Hers is a very small role, so she was on the sets for like a week max. She really doesn’t have anything to talk about here. Maybe they should have brought Rebecca Ferguson instead?” a third wrote. “You can clearly tell SOMETHING happened. They do NOT like each other. At all. Like none of them. The anxiousness I feel for them during this interview is through the roof. I’m literally having a panic attack rn,” a fourth commented.

This is the same reason people are worried about being filmed in the background of some random viral video with a grumpy face. Social media users (especially those on TikTok) hyper-analyze everything they see and conjure narratives out of thin air to support gossip with no foundation beyond a glance, or folded arms, or something else that means nothing – but seemingly indicates so much more.

Let’s not forget “spitgate”, when people were convinced that Harry Styles hocked a loogie on Chris Pine’s lap at the premiere of Don’t Worry Darling. It was total nonsense, but it fuelled the news cycle for a week.

Bear this in mind: the cast of Dune 2 (and any big movie, generally) constantly have to manufacture conversations as if they’re happening for the first time, repeating anecdotes and trying to act chipper and cheerful when they’re probably tired. Remind me, what is Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity?

Clips out of context can look suspicious, but look at the wider scope: there are several group interviews online of them all laughing and smiling together. Drama can be delicious, but there’s no substance to any of this – and we can all do a bit better to resist its hollow taste.

“It is so shocking to find out how many people do not believe that they can learn, and how many more believe learning to be difficult.”