Dune 2: The significance of Florence Pugh’s character in the upcoming sequel

Dune: Part 2 is one of the most anticipated releases of the year. After the original film triumphed in a 2021 full of ups and downs, the sequel directed by Denis Villeneuve will be released on November 3, 2023. It will complete the story of Paul Atreides, who after seeing his family die under the clutches of the Harkonnen will have to reconquer Arrakis.

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Again, in the movie we will see Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Javier Bardem and other actors like Rebecca Ferguson or Josh Brolin. But there is a great actress who joins the main cast and of whom we have not known anything until the trailers: Florence Pugh.

The Midsommar star joins Austin Butler as major new additions to Dune: Part 2, and in her case she will play a vital role in the plot. But who will Florence Pugh play and why is this character so important?

A vital character for Paul Atreides

Florence Pugh plays Princess Irulan Corrino. Irulan is the eldest of the five daughters of Shaddam IV, the 81st Padishah Emperor. The character does not appear until the final stretch of Frank Herbert’s book, and is actually a pawn in a much larger machination.

Irulan is raised from birth to have very little influence in her own life, and is trained in the ways of the Bene Gesserit to one day be a Reverend Mother. Being the daughter of the emperor, she is highly valued, and her goal is nothing more than to be the wife of the head of a great house in order to make a political alliance.

In Dune, as Paul Atreides gradually takes over the Fremen and begins to fight against the Harkonnen government, his actions attract the attention of Emperor Shaddam, whose forces are sent to Arrakis to impose order. The ensuing battle between the Fremen and the Emperor’s Sardaukar heavily favors Paul’s armies, and leaves the Emperor with no choice but to forge a truce in which Paul becomes the new Emperor and marries Princess Irulan. She is thus the future wife of Chalamet’s character.

Irulan’s role gains even more strength in the Dune sequels, where she becomes a vital character for the future of Dune. We don’t know yet if Villeneuve will want to adapt the subsequent books, but if he does, Pugh will be vital.

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