There are few things in this world that people love the way they love a Florence Pugh role. Whether it is playing a woman tortured by the men in her life or playing the sassy younger sister of Natasha Romanoff, Pugh’s range is one that people love to talk about and for good reason: She’s incredible. The Academy Award-nominated actress knows how to pull out all the stops for her work and is a masterclass in character work. So, it’s exciting that she’s going to be in Dune: Part Two.
Pugh is set to play Princess Irulan in the highly anticipated sequel to the Denis Villeneuve film Dune, which brought audiences Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides. Based on the novel by Frank Herbert, Dune brought us into the world of spice, worms, and the Fremen. It was a cinematic adventure that had audiences obsessed with the film, so the sequel has a lot to live up to.
Casting Pugh was definitely a move in the right direction. Pugh joins Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, and Javier Bardem all returning to their roles, along with new cast-mates Austin Butler, Tim Blake Nelson, and Souheila Yacoub. Now though, we’ve gotteb our first look at Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan and the internet has collectively started screaming.
Honestly? Same, because now I have a new Florence Pugh character that I need to try to cosplay as. The image shows Princess Irulan standing with her hair slicked back, a golden headpiece on, and wearing a sheer white shirt. That’s about it, but it is still the first time we’re seeing Princess Irulan in action, so it’s exciting!
The Vanity Fair first look also included images of Chalamet and Zendaya together, Austin Butler’s bald look for Feyd-Rautha, and Rebecca Ferguson.
It’s Florence Pugh’s world and we’re just living in it
What the excitement for the Princess Irulan first look proves is that when Pugh is in something, fans will get excited. And rightfully so. She has been, consistently, an actor who delivers no matter the movie we’re watching, and seeing her reunited with her Little Women co-star Timothée Chalamet (who played Laurie to Pugh’s Amy March) is something that does bring me a lot of joy.
I had never been someone who got into Dune prior to the first film coming out. It seemed daunting, even if it is considered to be “soft” sci-fi by those in the know, but then Dune hit theaters in 2021 and Denis Villeneuve brought an entirely new audience into the story, and honestly, Villeneuve is great at telling sci-fi stories. We’ve seen how he tackles what is labeled “hard” sci-fi with Blade Runner 2049 and how he could adapt a “soft” sci-fi story with Dune.
Bringing Pugh into the sci-fi fold is an exciting adventure. Even if she technically dipped her toes into the Victory pool of sci-fi with Don’t Worry Darling, it does feel like Dune is a completely different kind of science fiction. Either way, we’re excited to meet her Princess Irulan.
(featured image: Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
