Guardians of the Galaxy actor Dave Bautista has signed on to Denis Villeneuve’s two-part movie adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal novel Dune.
Bautista will be playing the role of the Beast Rabban, the nephew of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, the story’s primary villain. Rabban is a brutal, sadistic murderer who is placed in charge of spice mining operations on the planet Arrakis by his uncle, resulting in a reign of terror that helps spur an uprising by the natives.
The film marks Bautista’s second project with Villeneuve, having previously played the small but memorable role of Sapper Morton in Blade Runner 2049. It also marks Bautista’s latest foray into genre fiction, having previously starred in films such as The Scorpion King 3 and Riddick.