Dave Bautista confirms he’ll be playing the character of Rabban Harkonnen in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune reboot. News of Bautista’s casting broke back in January with the wrestler turned actor joining a star-studded cast that then included Timothée Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name) as Dune’s lead protagonist Paul Atreides and Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible – Fallout) as his mother Lady Jessica.

Since then, Villeneuve has been steadily adding more talent to his cast including Oscar winner Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men) as Stilgar and Thanos actor Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck. Shortly after Bautista’s casting was confirmed, it was announced that Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård would be taking on the role of Dune’s villain Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. Rumors swirled that the character Bautista would play was closely linked to Stellan Skarsgård’s role.

Now we can confirm that Bautista’s character is indeed related to Skarsgård’s after the actor posted a picture on Instagram of a director’s chair with the name ‘Rabban Harkonnen’ printed across it. Rabban Harkonnen is the sadistic but rather stupid nephew of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen and aids his uncle in his evil plan to take down the Atreides family and gain power over the planet of Arrakis. In David Lynch’s 1984 big screen adaptation of Dune the character was played by late actor Paul Smith (Robert Altman’s Popeye) and by Swiss actor László I. Kish in Syfy’s 2000 miniseries adaptation.

Rabban Harkonnen is a rather small role, at least in Frank Herbert’s original 1965 novel and David Lynch’s big screen version. However, since it’s been confirmed that Villeneuve’s Dune reboot will have at least one sequel it’s possible that Bautista may get a little more screen time than previous actors who have played Rabban Harkonnen.

Regardless of the size of his role, it’ll surely be a welcome change of pace for Bautista. Lately, the actor is best known for his role as loveable giant Drax the Destroyer in the Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers movies. While playing a character that everybody adores no doubt has its perks, it’ll be interesting to see Bautista take on a totally different role with a largely unlikeable character like Rabban Harkonnen.

Villeneuve’s Dune has a release date set for November 2020, so we’ve still got a long time to wait until we see what Bautista does with his newly confirmed role. In the meantime, Bautista’s fans can catch him in the forthcoming action comedies Stuber and My Spy.

Next: Why Denis Villeneuve is the Perfect Director For Dune

Source: Dave Bautista/Instagram

  • Dune Release Date: 2021-10-22