Since its publication, Frank Herbert’s seminal sci-fi novel Dune has famously been considered “unfilmable” due to its epic story, complex worldbuilding, and psychedelic concepts. The first attempt at bringing Dune to the screen hit theaters in 1984. Directed by David Lynch, this version set out to adapt the whole novel. The movie was panned by critics, bombed at the box office, and got disowned by its director. In the subsequent decades, Lynch’s Dune has been reappraised as a cult classic. But Herbert’s opus still had yet to be done justice on the big screen. Enter Denis Villeneuve, whose 2021 version of Dune was universally praised by critics, recognized by the Academy, and embraced by both diehard Herbert fans and newcomers.
Villeneuve only tackles the first half of the book ahead of a sequel that will adapt the second half. With less plot to get through, Villeneuve had much more time than Lynch to explore the characters and their world. The new Dune has plenty of memorable performances, but some of the actors in the much-maligned Lynch version gave even stronger turns than their successors.
Lady Jessica: Rebecca Ferguson
sca Annis did a fine job with the role of Lady Jessica in 1984’s Dune. She shared palpable chemistry with her co-stars and delivered an assured portrayal of the character. But in the 2021 reboot, Rebecca Ferguson knocked it out of the park.
Ferguson brought an authentic badass edge to Lady Jessica. She nailed the fierce delivery of her one-liners when she uses her superpowers to effortlessly defeat strapping warriors in combat.
Piter De Vries: Brad Dourif
David Dastmalchian is a terrific actor whose turn in the role of Piter De Vries, the Mentat of House Harkonnen, is memorable without going over the top. This was the latest in a long line of recent ing performances by Dastmalchian in blockbuster cinema.
Still, as brilliantly understated as Dastmalchian is, there’s something truly special about Brad Dourif’s unabashedly bonkers turn in the 1984 movie. Dourif’s performance was one of the few critically praised aspects of the Lynch-helmed original.
Duncan Idaho: Jason Momoa
Duncan Idaho is the weapons master of House Atreides and one of Paul’s father figures. Richard Jordan was largely forgettable in the 1984 movie. Duncan was one of the characters edged out by the streamlining that Lynch had to do to tell the book’s entire story in two hours.
Jason Momoa was the perfect casting choice for this lovable badass in the reboot. Momoa’s Duncan gets a heartbreaking death scene when he sacrifices himself to save Paul and his mother.
Reverend Mother Mohiam: Charlotte Rampling
Both of the actors who have played Reverend Mother Mohiam in movie adaptations of Dune are icons. Siân Phillips is famous for her stage performances acting out the words of such revered playwrights as Henrik Ibsen and George Bernard Shaw. Charlotte Rampling, on the other hand, was a cultural staple of the Swinging Sixties.
They both gave unforgettable turns as the Emperor’s Bene Gesserit Truthsayer, but Rampling is the most memorable. Despite the audience’s well-established affection for Rampling, she managed to creep everybody out with her breathtaking turn as Reverend Mother Mohiam – especially in the disturbing hand-in-the-box scene.
Duke Leto Atreides: Jürgen Prochnow
This is a tough one, because both Jürgen Prochnow and Oscar Isaac did a wonderful job of embodying the Duke of House Atreides with a strong sense of leadership.
They’re both mesmerizing performers with a commanding screen presence, but Prochnow – best known for playing the grizzled yet good-natured U-boat captain in Das Boot – brought slightly more grit to the role.
Stilgar: Javier Bardem
Stilgar was played by Everett McGill in the 1984 original. But in the 2021 reboot, Javier Bardem gives a much more nuanced performance as the stern-faced leader of the Fremen tribe.
Bardem chews on a powerful monologue about the irony of Houses Atreides and Harkonnen fighting over land and resources that neither of them has any right to.
Chani: Zendaya
Chani is primed for a much larger role in Villeneuve’s Dune sequel. She only appears briefly in Part One to deliver exposition and haunt Paul’s dreams. But Zendaya has already given a more memorable performance as Chani than Sean Young did in the 1984 original.
Young was let down by a typical love interest role. There’s more of an air of mystery around Zendaya’s Chani. She brings an Ian McKellen-esque dramatic weight to what could’ve been dry exposition.
Gurney Halleck: Patrick Stewart
Josh Brolin does a great job of playing Gurney Halleck, another one of Paul’s mentors, as both a fearless warrior and a loyal mentor to Paul. But Patrick Stewart brought real Shakespearean heft to the part in the 1984 movie.
Stewart commits wholeheartedly to Gurney’s ion and conviction, and shares great chemistry with Kyle MacLachlan. And since the 1984 version covers the entire novel, Stewart got to play the heartfelt reunion scene that Brolin won’t get to play until the sequel.
Baron Vladimir Harkonnen: Stellan Skarsgård
The version of the Baron of House Harkonnen played by Kenneth McMillan in the 1984 movie was used for gross-out visuals more than his actual performance.
In the 2021 reboot, the great Stellan Skarsgård rounds out an unforgettable antagonist with the eccentric sci-fi villainy of Jabba the Hutt and the disturbing depth of Colonel Kurtz.
Paul Atreides: Timothée Chalamet
Both portrayals of Dune’s prophetic protagonist Paul Atreides – played by Kyle MacLachlan in 1984 and by Timothée Chalamet in 2021 – are iconic in their own ways. But Chalamet brought more nuance to the role. MacLachlan’s Paul, by comparison, is a little hammy.
Chalamet frames the lofty, grandiose tale of a messianic figure coming to with his destiny through the lens of a moody teenager who doesn’t want to disappoint his parents.
