Javier Bardem, who plays Stilgar in Dune, has a very specific and exciting demand for his character in Dune 2. After an adaptation from David Lynch in 1984 that proved divisive, Frank Herbert's 1965 novel got the big-screen treatment once more in the form of Denis Villeneuve's Dune. The film has been a big hit with audiences and critics and its strong opening weekend box office revenue promptly led Warner Bros. to greenlight a sequel, which is due out in 2023.
The epic adventure film tells the story of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), and his quest to protect his family and his people after traveling to the dangerous desert planet of Arrakis. While on Arrakis, Atreides navigates shifting alliances, giant sandworms, and a tribe of Fremen, the planet's native inhabitants, the leader of which is Stilgar. Although Stilgar and the Fremen are only present for a relatively small portion of the film, Dune's cliffhanger ending suggests that they will play a much larger – and much more important – role in the sequel.
In a new interview with Deadline, Bardem briefly touches on what he hopes to see from Stilgar in Dune 2, and it turns out he has only one request. Much like the character does in the novel, Bardem wants Stilgar to, at some point, ride a sandworm. While the creatures are wildly destructive and fearsome in the first Dune, it seems like Bardem wants to see their power harnessed in the upcoming sequel. Check out Bardem's full comment below:
“The only thing I’m asking is that I get to ride a sandworm. Denis told me he’s going to try to make that happen. That does happen in the book, by the way. Stilgar teaches Paul [Atreides] how to take the desert power, which is to domesticate those huge animals in order to use their force, their strength, and their huge size against the Harkonnen. Hopefully, that will happen.”
Considering the very same thing happens in the book, Bardem's request isn't all too outlandish. Villeneuve clearly has a deep appreciation for the Dune novels and a strong grasp of his source material, meaning, if it's deemed important enough to the story, there's certainly a good chance audiences will see Stilgar riding a sandworm. Of course, when it comes to adaptations, there will always be elements that need to be changed as a story makes its way from page to screen, and it's possible that Villeneuve will need to cut Stilgar's epic moment to make room for something else.
While audiences still have quite a while before Dune 2 comes out, the project is likely already in the early stages of production with filming expected to start in July of this year. Although it's unclear if Bardem will get his wish, what the sandworm scene represents – Paul Atreides' introduction to and harnessing of desert power – certainly seems like it will play an important role in the sequel. Considering Bardem's role as a Fremen tribe leader and his character's deep desert knowledge, Paul will likely want to learn from him in order to be able to defeat House Harkonnen, and riding a sandworm might just be a part of that. Audiences will have to wait and see if Bardem gets his wish when Dune 2 releases on October 20th, 2023.
Source: Deadline
