‘I’ve Done My Dune Work’

Before Timothée Chalamet portrayed Paul Atreides in Denis Villenueve’s Dune, Kyle MacLachlan tackled the role in 1984. MacLachlan first appeared on-screen in David Lynch‘s 1984 adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic novel Dune. Recently, Denis Villeneuve’s critically acclaimed and box office hits, Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024), have brought renewed attention to the Dune universe.

Dune (1984)

Release Date

December 14, 1984

Runtime

2hr 17min

Studio

Dino De Laurentiis Company, Estudios Churubusco Azteca S.A.

During an exclusive interview with MovieWeb promoting his upcoming series, Fallout, where he plays Overseer Hank MacLean, we asked MacLachlan about the possibility of joining Villeneuve’s Dune cinematic world.

“You know, I’ve done my
Dune
work, but I am excited to see what comes. I’ve not seen the second one yet, or the completion of the first book. I love the book. I’ve loved it since I was a little kid. Anytime I can go see something that has anything
Dune
-related, I will be happy. And I think they did a marvelous job. So, I look forward to seeing it.”

Led by Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, and Javier Bardem (with Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, and Souheila Yacoub joining the cast for the second film), Villeneuve’s Dune-iverse boasts an impressive ensemble. The announcement of a third film and the success of previous films have set a promising trajectory for the future.

The original Dune, starring MacLachlan, Patrick Stewart, Brad Dourif, Dean Stockwell, Virginia Madsen, José Ferrer, Sting, Linda Hunt, and Max von Sydow, is available to stream on Max.

Kyle MacLachlan Praises David Lynch

Throughout his decades-long career, MacLachlan has been a frequent collaborator of his Dune director, the iconic David Lynch. After the 1984 sci-fi film, the two went on to work on Blue Velvet and in the Twin Peaks universe, where MacLachlan portrayed Agent Dale Cooper in the original 1990 series, the 1992 film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, and the 2017 follow up to the original show. For the latter, MacLachlan earned an Emmy nod for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama.

We spoke to MacLachlan about his lengthy partnership with Lynch, which extends beyond the screen into a close friendship.

“Well, we just have a connection, and I think we really love each other as friends, and we love each other in the working relationship… we have some kind of a balance between us [that is] really effective on screen. As you can tell, I love him dearly, and will be forever grateful to him because of his belief in me, and casting me in two really important things, three really important things actually in my life.”

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MacLachlan next appears in Fallout, a post-apocalyptic drama series created by Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Captain Marvel) and Graham Wagner (Portlandia). It is based on the video game franchise of the same name and set in a future, post-apocalyptic Los Angeles brought about by nuclear decimation, where citizens must live in underground bunkers to protect themselves from radiation, mutants and bandits.