Mission: Impossible – Fallout star Rebecca Ferguson is in negotiations to board French Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s best-selling sci-fi novel Dune.
According to Deadline, Ferguson is in talks to board Villeneuve’s adaptation of Herbert’s 1965 novel, which is set to span at least two movies, with the first entry covering approximately half of the novel. Ferguson would join a cast featuring Academy Award nominee Timothée Chalamet who was previously cast in the lead role as Paul Atreides. Ferguson will reportedly portray Lady Jessica, Atreides’ mother.
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Ferguson hails from Sweden and has previously appeared in the 2014 film Hercules and last year’s The Greatest Showman. She broke through to international prominence following her portrayal of disavowed British Intelligence agent Ilsa Faust in 2015’s Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, a role she reprised in this year’s sequel.
Lady Jessica was previously portrayed on the big screen by English actor Francesca Annis in director David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation, which was largely panned by critics and was a box office flop.
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Academy Award-winning screenwriter Eric Roth has been tapped to pen the script for Villeneuve’s adaptation, with input from authors Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, who’ve collaborated frequently on a series of Dune prequels and short stories. Academy Award nominee Timothée Chalamet is set to star in a leading role alongside Rebecca Ferguson. A release date has not yet been announced.