DUNE Star Rebecca Ferguson Says Director Denis Villeneuve's Take on the Story Will Honor the Strength of the Female Characters

Fans are pretty excited about director Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming adaptation of the Frank Herbert sci-fi novel Dune. Just the cast alone is enough to get anyone pumped up about the film. It includes Timothee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name), Rebecca Ferguson (The Greatest Showman), Jason Momoa (Aquaman), Zendaya (Spider-Man: Far From Home), Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy), Josh Brolin (Avengers: Infinity War), Oscar Isaac (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Stellan Skarsgard (Good Will Hunting), Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men), David Dastmalchian (Suicide Squad), and more.

While the movie is based on the novel, the sci-fi classic did come out in 1965, so if they are to bring the story up to date, some of the antiquated ideas of equality and gender roles will also need to be brought up to date. In a recent interview with ComingSoon, Rebecca Ferguson was out promoting her latest film, Doctor Sleep. She was asked about her character, Jessica, in the film Dune. She said:

“[Dune] completely and utterly honors the strength of Jessica–the Bene Gesserit that she is, even though she is a concubine and her rights are not as high as the King or what her son becomes. Denis was very much aligned with creating empowerment and powerful moments for her where they were needed. I think Frank Herbert… when he wrote it he didn’t really live in an understandably equal environment. And the book is great! It has beautiful moments in it. It’s not really where we are or where we should be.”

It sounds like Villeneuve is setting up a story of strong characters across the board, which is so much more interesting than just have pretty people there to be decorative. I’m interested to see where the story will lead. Are you?

Dune is set to debut in theaters on December 18, 2020.