Oscar Isaac just might be an important figure in two cinematic sci-fi universes. According to Entertainment Weekly, the Star Wars lead is in talks to play Duke Leto Atreides in the upcoming reboot of Dune. As Leto, he would be playing the father of Timothée Chalamet's Paul Atreides, the deposed prince who leads an uprising among the native inhabitants of a desert planet that contains a highly coveted spice.
If he ends up on the cast of the Frank Herbert adaptation, Isaac will join Chalamet, Stellan Skarsgard, Rebecca Ferguson, and Dave Bautista. Ferguson will play Paul's mother Lady Jessica, a member of a group called the Bene Gesserit. Skarsgard will play Baron Harkonnen, the scheming governor of the desert planet and the villain of the first story in the Dune series. Bautista's role is unknown but it is easy to see him slotting into the role of the Atreides loyalist and sword master Duncan Idaho.
Dune has been a ripe universe for creators since its release in the 1960s. Legendary oddball director Alejandro Jodorowsky attempted to turn it into a film in the mid-70s. The film was meant to have a soundtrack by Pink Floyd, set design by H.R. Giger and a cast that included Salvador Dali, Orson Welles, David Carradine, and Mick Jagger. The film stalled for lack of funds and the rights were eventually picked up by a group that produced a 1984 adaptation directed by David Lynch.
The SyFy network released a three-part miniseries based around the first book in the Dune series in 2000. However, the new project is easily the most high-profile attempt to create a Dune movie since the early '80s.
