Fans of Dune have had reason to feel a touch disappointed recently, as it was reported earlier this month that our wait time for Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part 2 has been increased – with the blockbuster sequel’s release date shifted by about a month, from October of next year to November 2023. There is no reason to really despair, however, as work on the film is progressing, as proven by the most recent casting announcement.
Deadline is now reporting that Souheila Yacoub has become the latest actor to join the cast of Dune: Part 2. She will be playing the part of Shishakli in the film, and while the character does not have a particularly massive role to play in the story, a notable aspect of the casting is that the part is being gender swapped.
In Frank Herbert’s Dune, Paul Atreides (played by Timothée Chalamet in the 2021 adaptation) meets Shishakli as he is become acclimated among the Fremen. When Paul is learning how to ride sandworms, it’s Shishakli who provides him with the hooks that are necessary for the activity. He says that the hooks that he’s giving up are his own, and that “they have never failed.”
Souheila Yacoub is a Swiss actor who made her acting debut in the French soap opera Plus belle la vie in 2016. In 2018 she made her feature film debut in the Gaspar Noé movie Climax starring Sofia Boutella, and more recently she starred in the Hulu original series No Man’s Land. Dune: Part 2 will be the biggest project she has been involved with to date.
Dune: Part 2 is expected to adapt the second half of Frank Herbert’s original novel in the book series and it will follow Paul Atreides and Lady Jessica as they work alongside the Fremen to try and end the tyranny of House Harkonnen on the planet Arrakis and fight back against the forces that saw House Atreides destroyed.
This is just the latest casting update from Dune: Part 2, which has been busy in the last few months adding a lot of new talent. Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Zendaya, Stellan Skarsgård, and more are expected to reprise their roles from Dune, and new additions to the ensemble include Florence Pugh (in the role of Princess Irulan), Austin Butler (as the sinister Feyd-Rautha), Christopher Walken (ruling the universe as Emperor Shaddam IV), and Léa Seydoux (playing subversive Bene Gesserit, Margot).
You can learn about the full ensemble and the roles they will be playing in our Dune: Part 2 Updated Cast List, and be sure to stay tuned on CinemaBlend as more actors sign on for the production. The film will be in theaters on November 17, 2023, and you can learn about all of the other movies set on the schedule for next year with our 2023 Movie Release Calendar.