Dune 2 star left “heartbroken” after being cut from movie

❘ Published: 2024-03-04T15:48:15

Peacock/Warner Bros.

Dune 2 brought back many of the main cast in their leading roles from Timothée Chalamet to Zendaya, but the movie also cast another actor who filmed scenes that were ultimately cut.

For Dune 2, the cast expanded to include Austin Butler as the psychopathic Feyd-Rautha. Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan. Christopher Walken also joined the cast of The Emperor of the Imperium with Léa Seydoux as Margot Fenring.

But, before the grand successful premiere of Dune 2, it was announced actor Tim Blake Nelson was originally cast as an unknown character. While watching the movie, fans soon realized the actor was absent from any scenes.

Who was his character? And why was he not included in the final cut? Denis Villeneuve and Nelson himself explain the reason.

Tim Blake Nelson was cut from Dune 2

Nelson has kept his character role in Dune 2 a secret, even when revealing he was “heartbroken” about his scenes being cut. But there were no hard feelings.

In an interview with MovieWeb, Nelson explains he has already filmed all his scenes for the sequel and had a great time. He hopes to work with the Dune director again.

“I don’t think I’m at liberty to say what the scene was. I’d leave that to Denis [Villeneuve] if he wants to talk about it. I had a great time over there shooting it. And then he had to cut it because he thought the movie was too long. And I am heartbroken over that, but there’s no hard feelings. I loved it, and I can’t wait to do something else with him and we certainly plan to do that,” said the actor.

Many speculate Nelson was meant to play the role of Count Hasimir Fenring. Per the books, the character is an assassin and Mentat who is the closest advisor to the Emperor. He was part of the Bene Gesserit’s breeding program to be the Kwisatz Haderach but failed. His wife is Lady Fenring, who appears in Dune 2.

It’s not hard to believe that Villeneuve had to make some clear choices on how to shorten Dune 2 as its current runtime is over three hours. But the director also revealed he has cut another popular character from the movie for part of the same reason as Nelson’s character.

In an interview with ScreenCrush, Stephen McKinley Henderson was meant to return as Atreides Mentat Thufir Hawat. The director made the difficult choice to cut out the character from the final edits. He explains it was a storyline decision to focus more on the Bene Gesserit.

“I was in love with Thufir Hawat. It’s a character that I absolutely adore. But I had to make the bold choice to make a Bene Gesserit adaptation, and to focus the movie on that sisterhood. I wish there was more Thufir Hawat. That’s what I would say,” said the director.

Both actors were given special thanks in the movie’s credits.

Dune: Part Two is in cinemas now – you can read more about the movie via the below articles: