Dune: Part II has found its emperor in Christopher Walken

Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP via Getty Images

The first Dune film is a sweeping epic that introduces a new take on Paul Atreides at the beginning of his path to becoming a legend, but the movie is careful to keep a number of details and characters from Frank Herbert. The director knows what he's doing with the second Dune movie, and the latest casting news suggests that.

Christopher Walken will play the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV in Dune: Part II, who was responsible for sending Paul Atreides to the planet Arrakis. In Herbert's novel, House Harkonnen and the emperor are both shocked when they learn of the continued resistance on Arrakis. The emperor isn't going to be the only interesting new part of the story because Dune: Part II is meant to cover elements from the book that the first film didn't get around to. He will be one of the most important parts when Dune: Part II hits theaters.