Dune: Part Two director Denis Villeneuve has revealed which character he found most painful to cut out of the massive sequel.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Villeneuve spoke about how things always end up being removed when adapting an existing story into a movie. The filmmaker then explained that the most painful character for him to cut from the sequel was Stephen McKinley Henderson‘s Thufir Hawat — a Mentat with a substantial role in the first film and in the source material.
“One of the most painful choices for me on this one was Thufir Hawat,” Villeneuve stated. “He’s a character I absolutely love, but I decided right at the beginning that I was making a Bene Gesserit adaptation. That meant that Mentats are not as present as they should be, but it’s the nature of the adaptation.”
Dune: Part Two was directed by Villeneuve from a script he co-wrote with Jon Spaihts. The film is based on Frank Herbert’s groundbreaking 1965 sci-fi novel Dune.
The sequel features the return of Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, and Stephen McKinley Henderson. Joining them are new cast members Christopher Walken as Emperor Shaddam IV, Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha, Léa Seydoux as Lady Margot, and Souheila Yacoub as Shishakli.
What happens in Dune: Part Two?
“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,” the official synopsis reads. “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.”
