Rebecca Ferguson will appear in Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sprawling novel ‘Dune’, in the role of Lady Jessica, the mother of main character Paul Atreides, to be played by Timothée Chalamet. But don’t expect Ferguson’s character to be the subservient character from the book or previous adaptations.
While promoting her new film, ‘Doctor Sleep’, Ferguson told Coming Soon:
“Completely and utterly honors the strength of Jessica–the Bene Gesserit that she is, even though she is a concubine and her rights are not as high as the King or what her son becomes. Denis was very much aligned with creating empowerment and powerful moments for her where they were needed. I think Frank Herbert… when he wrote it he didn’t really live in an understandably equal environment. And the book is great! It has beautiful moments in it. It’s not really where we are or where we should be.”
Francesca Annis portrayed the character in David Lynch’s 1984 film version, which was a disappointment, in part because Herbert’s novel is so massive and Lynch’s movie tried to cram too much into too small a space. Perhaps to rectify that, Villeneuve plans to divide the first book into two films, with hopes of adapting Herbert’s subsequent novels in the future.
Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence-a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential-only those who can conquer their fear will survive.
Ferguson joins an all-star cast that includes Javier Bardem as Stilgar, Dave Bautista as Glossu ‘Beast’ Rabban, Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck, David Dastmalchian as Piter De Vries, Stephen McKinley Henderson as Thufir Hawat, Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides, Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho, Charlotte Rampling as Reverend Mother Mohiam, Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Harkonnen, and Zendaya as Chani.
The picture is scheduled to open on December 18, 2020.
