Dune: Part Two was already filled to the brim with A-list actors from Zendaya to Timothee Chalamet, but fans were in for a surprise when it was revealed that Anya Taylor-Joy (Northman, The Witch) was also part of the cast as a future vision of Alia Atreides—Paul’s sister.
Apparently, the secret was very well kept for a while, and Anya Taylor-Joy talks to Variety about how only her and a small amount of the crew knew about the scene when they were shooting it. Here’s what she says:
“I think the most heartwarming thing about the secret of being in Dune is we all kept it for Denis. Denis desperately wanted to pull this off and if you’ve met him, or you admire him, you’ll know that he is just the most wonderful person and his energy toward filmmaking is so infectious that the idea that there was only twelve people in the world—most of that being the skeleton crew that we took to Namibia to shoot the scene—that we were all sitting on this secret that was really exciting and thrilling to be a part of.”
Anya Taylor-Joy on keeping her "Dune: Part Two" appearance a secret: "Denis [Villeneuve] desperately wanted to pull this off." https://t.co/5xTmyXzy7x pic.twitter.com/U6rCuuO108
— Variety (@Variety) May 7, 2024
In the original book, Alia was actually four-years-old by the time the events of Dune end, but they decided to speed up the events for the film and have Lady Jessica pregnant with her when Paul takes over. Admittedly, this still added to the whole creep-factor of Alia being a talking fetus, and we got to see her personification in Taylor-Joy when she shows up in Paul’s vision when he drinks the Water of Life.
With Dune: Messiah getting the greenlight, we should expect Taylor-Joy to have an expanded role as Alia in the trilogy’s end. Fans don’t expect the movie to be accurate to the events of the book—because it’s too bonkers for cinema—but we should get something that harkens to the original message from Herbert; in that chosen one characters and charismatic leaders aren’t to be trusted and we should always be cautious of them.
No release date has been set for Dune: Messiah yet, but Dune: Part Two is now available on digital. You can also catch Taylor-Joy in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga when it comes to theaters May 24.
