'He enjoyed being evil': Stellan Skarsgard opens up on Austin Butler playing Feyd-Rautha in 'Dune' sequel

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Stellan Skarsgard shared his first reaction to seeing Austin Butler in his character.

“I laughed so much because it was so obvious that he really enjoyed being evil,” Skarsgard told Variety at the ‘Dune: Part Two’ premiere on Sunday night, February 25, in New York City.

Who all feature in 'Dune: Part Two'?

He played the sadistic and cruel Feyd-Rautha who is the younger nephew and heir of Skarsgard's Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, who originally appeared in Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 sci-fi epic ‘Dune.’

Butler observed Skarsgard's vocal performance in the first edition to comeup with his Feyd-Rautha character.

“It was like hearing an echo. It was very, very precise,” Skarsgard said of Butler’s voice in the film.

The movie, which got a record rating on IMDb, is set on the desert planet Arrakis and tells the story of Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet).

He joins forces with the Fremen to wage war against House Harkonnen. The second chapter also comprises of Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Lea Seydoux, Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling, Souheila Yacoub, Javier Bardem, Christopher Walken, and Skarsgard. 

Anya Taylor-Joy will also feature playing a role yet to be revealed in the sequel.

Christopher Walken was ready for his role

Walken had read Frank Herbert’s seminal 1965 sci-fi novel when he was young and has also seen David Lynch’s 1984 film adaptation.

“I kind of grew up with it. But this version of ‘Dune’ is something else,” Walken told the outlet.

“But this film was so different, and just watching ‘Part One,’ I knew that the tone of this film was very, very different. So it provided a lot of latitude for me to play and find my own version," he added.

Seydoux said, “I was filming another film with a Hungarian director, and I came to [the ‘Dune’] set to visit. So it felt like, when I came back the second time, it felt like home a bit. It felt like it was a family.”

The actress added, “It’s a book that Denis has wanted to adapt since he’s like a kid, so I really felt I was part of his dream. He knew exactly what he wanted, he knew all the details, and everything was so precise that it was quite easy in a way.”