Dune Director on Why Timothee Chalamet Was His Only Choice as the Movie's Lead

Dune, which may or may not come out this December, took fans by surprise when it was announced that Timothee Chalamet was announced as the leading man. A lot of us still have the original Dune on our minds so switching from an older white man to a younger white man has confused many. Still, acclaimed director Dennis Villeneuve felt that Chalamet was the only choice in his mind so we're happy he got his wish.

You try telling the director of Blade Runner 2049 that his casting choice is wrong. Yeah, I thought so. Villeneuve spoke with Tanya Lapointe at the Shanghai International Film Festival via the Secrets of Dune YouTube channel where he said why Chalamet is perfect for the role. The director feels like Chalamet captures what he wants with the character, claiming that he's an old soul in a young body.

Timothee Chalamet was my first choice at the beginning. There was just one Paul Atreides on Earth right now for me, and there was one name on the list. And I met Timothee and we both agreed spontaneously that we would work together. It was not difficult to convince Timothee. I chose Timothee for several reasons. First of all, he's a phenomenal actor. He is someone that has a lot of depth, someone that is very mature for his age. Because Paul Atreides is an old soul in a young body. And Timothee has that.

Chalamet has proven his excellence before but hearing how he's the only one who could be in this role is quite the shocker. Once again, I'm not going to argue with a director who seemingly only makes good movies so we're sure that Chalamet will knock it out of the park. How he'll stand out in this all-star cast is going to be interesting, to say the least.

Dune is still scheduled for a December release but that might not happen. We'll just have to wait and see.

Read: First Dune Trailer Reportedly Coming Out in August