Dune: Part Two Adds Watchmen Star
Tim Blake Nelson, Watchmen's Looking Glass, has joined the cast of Dune: Part Two in an undisclosed role.
Despite finishing production last year, another casting announcement was just made for Dune: Part Two, adding Tim Blake Nelson to the ensemble. Deadline reports that the Watchmen star is the newest addition to the cast, even though any and all details about his character are being held closely under wraps. While it is rare for a production to announce an actor has joined after it is already wrapped, it is not unheard of, and could be done to help achieve a level of secrecy over their role.
Dune fans are speculating that Tim Blake Nelson will play the part of Count Hasimir Fenring, an assassin, Mentat, and the closest thing that the Emperor, played in the upcoming film by Christopher Walken, ever had to a friend. Also starring in the upcoming film are Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Javier Bardem, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, and Austin Butler. Denis Villeneuve returns as director, and screenwriter, alongside Eric Roth, returning as screenwriter, and Hans Zimmer, coming back to score the second film.
The first Dune followed Timothee Chalamet’s Paul Atreides, heir to House Atreides, the current stewards of Arrakis, the only planet that produces spice, which is the most important resource in the galaxy. Following a series of near-death escapes, Paul ended the film joining the Fremen, natives of Arrakis, in an attempt to fulfil his father’s dream of bringing peace to the planet. If his role is as speculated, Tim Blake Nelson won’t be an ally to the young Atreides, though he may not be a blatant foe either.
If Tim Blake Nelson does end up playing a villain, it won’t be his first, and definitely not his last as the actor is already confirmed to be returning to the MCU as The Leader, a classic Hulk villain. Nelson played Samuel Sterns, the man that would become the gamma-irradiated villain, in The Incredible Hulk, though the role back then was more of an easter egg for fans of the comic. 16 years later, in Captain America: New World Order, it’s unknown what role the character will have, but based on how Marvel has elevated the villain in the comics lately, he won’t be on the side of the angels.
In a similar move, Tim Blake Nelson’s The Incredible Hulk co-star Tim Roth, also waited over a decade before returning to the MCU as Emil Blonsky, the Abomination, in She-Hulk. Even his DC role, in Watchmen as Looking Glass, was in a sequel series that also took over a decade to make after the original movie, and nearly 30 years after the original graphic novel was published. Between his comic-based roles, Nelson kept busy working with Guillermo Del Toro, acting in 2021’s Nightmare Alley and last year’s Cabinet of Curiosities with the accomplished director.
No matter what role Tim Blake Nelson has in Dune: Part Two, or how extensive his return to the MCU will be in the next Captain America film, more screen time for one of Hollywood’s best character actors is always a good thing. Dune: Part Two will be released on November 3rd, while Captain America: New World Order premieres on May 3rd, 2024.
