Dune Messiah Keeping Timothée Chalamet Comes With One Small Problem
At the beginning of Frank Herbert's 1965 novel "Dune," Paul Atreides is only 15 years old. By the time he survived an assassination attempt, moved into the desert, and become a Messiah for both the Fremen and the Bene Gesserit, he was only about 17 or 18. In Denis Villeneuve's recent film adaptations of "Dune," Paul was played by Timothée Chalamet, an actor who was 23 when shooting began. He's 28 now. Either Paul was aged up for the film, or Chalamet is playing a teenager. Either way, Paul's age is unspecified. Also, there is a lot of time compression in Villeneuve's adaptation; Paul's time with the Fremen takes place over only a few months — gauged by his mother's pregnancy — and not two full years like in the book.
In 1969, Herbert wrote a sequel called "Dune Messiah," which took place 12 years after the events of the first novel. In it, Paul — now 30 — is the Emperor of the Galaxy, raising two children, and has instigated a galaxy-wide jihad that has killed over 61 billion people. Paul struggles to retain control of the desert planet Arrakis while various shadowy organizations undermine his authority. After many twisted conspiracies, Paul exits into the desert, having shed his God status and regained his humanity.
While Chalamet would be age-appropriate for a potential "Dune Messiah" film — should Villeneuve choose to make one — Chalamet has been blessed/cursed with boyish features and clear skin that confuse his actual age. A 30-year-old Timothée Chalamet wouldn't necessarily look the part as Emperor Paul-Muad'Dib, which is something Villeneuve has thought about.
In a recent interview with the New York Times, Villeneuve complained openly about Chalamet's frustrating youthfulness, and how it would interfere with a potential "Dune Messiah" movie.
Old Paul
When the interviewer pointed out the events of "Dune Messiah" — including the jihad that killed 61 billion people — Villeneuve could only cuss at Chalamet, also present for the interview. The actor was amused by his director's frustration. "I didn't write it," he said. The interviewers asked if Villeneuve, should he want to make "Dune Messiah," would have to wait the necessary number of years to ensure Chalamet looked the right age. Or, horror of horrors, would a new actor be required? Villeneuve merely stated:
"He will look forever young. We'll have to use the magic of A.I."
Digital de-aging and/or aging-up is still something of a dodgy proposition in 2024, as it rarely looks completely right. Actors still look like they're wearing a strange animated "mask," rather than merely looking older or younger. Film technology is advancing all the time, however, and Villeneuve would perhaps employ the correct ultra-advanced digital tools to make the youthful Chalamet less youthful. Or, more likely, Villeneuve would cast Chalamet as a 30-year-old Paul, not worry about how old he looks, and simply depict Paul as a father of Leto II and Ghanima.
Villeneuve drained out several supernatural elements of "Dune," keeping it a sociopolitical action thriller more than a high fantasy. He will have to directly face the magic soon, however, as there are ghost possessions, transferred consciousness, and other eerie psychic phenomena in the story going forward. As the "Dune" world becomes wilder, it will likely be unconcerned that a 30-year-old actor still looks 25.
The waiting game
The good news (or bad news, depending on how patient you are) is that it's likely that Chalamet will be in his early-to-mid-30s before the cameras start rolling on a "Dune Messiah" movie. He and his co-star Zendaya have both expressed that they're keen to return for another sequel, but Villeneuve has joked that he and everyone else who worked on the movie are "sand-traumatized" from their time spent filming on location in the desert, where the constant presence of sand grated on their sanity as much as their skin. Zendaya recalled that the stillsuit she had to wear in the movie would get heavier and heavier throughout the day as sand accumulated inside it, and she got "a good workout" from dragging all that sand around with her.
After making "Dune" and "Dune: Part Two" with no gap in between, Villeneuve is ready for a break. Not a real break, as he clarified in an interview with Uproxx, "I'm talking about just a few weeks to sleep." Then, rather than going right back to Arrakis, he wants to stretch his filmmaking muscles a bit by making something non-"Dune"-related.
"There are many stories that I want to do and I have a lot of projects. And, of course, I love 'Dune.' But it's like, I think it could be interesting to do a small movie, and then go back to 'Dune' after. Just to give a bit of breathing and to create a little bit of distance. And perspective. And create an appetite also."
So, Chalamet has time to develop a wrinkle or two.