Dave Bautista has joined the cast of “Dune,” Legendary’s planned reboot of the 1984 sci-fi epic, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.
Bautista is reuniting with “Blade Runner 2049” director Denis Villeneuve on the project. Bautista’s character details are currently being kept under wraps, but he joins the film opposite Timothée Chalamet and Rebecca Ferguson.
Eric Roth, Jon Spaihts and Villeneuve wrote the screenplay based on Frank Herbert’s novel. Legendary is planning for “Dune” to be a multi-film series.
Set in the distant future, “Dune” tells the story of Paul Atreides, whose family accepts control of the desert planet Arrakis. The planet is the only source of the coveted spice melange, which means control of Arrakis is highly contested among the noble families. After Paul and his family are betrayed, the story explores themes of politics, religion and man’s relationship to nature, as Paul leads a rebellion to restore his family’s control of Arrakis.
Bautista will next be seen in “Avengers: Endgame,” as well as the action comedies “My Spy” and “Stuber.” TheWrap also reported that the actor was in talks to star in the “Fantasy Island” film.
Bautista is repped by CAA, the Meisner Entertainment Group and attorney Jay Rosenthal at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp.
Variety was first to report.