Oscar Isaac Could Play Timothée Chalamet’s Space Dad in Dune
Timothée Chalamet may have been snubbed for Beautiful Boy, but he also still may have an Oscar in his immediate future. Oscar Isaac, that is. According to Variety, Isaac is in negotiations to join Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming remake of sci-fi epic Dune as the noble father of Chalamet’s lead character.
Even though his career is still in its beginnings, Chalamet has already amassed an impressive collection of onscreen fathers. Matthew McConaughey played his very first in Interstellar, and Michael Stuhlberg, Ed Helms, Ed Harris and Ben Mendelsohn have since played his dad in other projects. Even Chalamet is in awe of the lineup, telling W, “I’ve had some great movie dads, I’ve gotta say.”
Still, the news that Isaac could be the next to join Lil’ Timée’s On Screen Dad Club™ is hitting the internet just a little bit differently. Perhaps it’s because the two actors are just 16 years apart in real life. Maybe it’s because unlike some of Chalamet’s other dads, Isaac is still considered relatively new to the A-list, just like Chalamet himself. Or, frankly, maybe it’s just because the pair are both often attributed with the tag “internet boyfriend,” and often by the same people. Which is to say, some of those people are really going through, well, something they should probably eventually speak to their therapist about right now on Twitter.
There seems to be a little bit of confusion about whether or not 39-year-old Isaac is actually old enough to play 23-year-old Chalamet’s father on screen (adding to the confusion is the fact that 35-year-old Rebecca Ferguson, last seen lip syncing in *The Greatest Showman, will be playing Chalamet’s mother, and, well, that’s a bit complicated.)
In the original Dune novel, Chalamet’s character Paul Atreides is portrayed as 15-years-old (according to one fan website, his year of birth would have been 10175 AG — remember this is sci-fi). His father then, would have been about 50-years-old in the book, and his mother would have been about 36 (meaning Ferguson is the only actress who is just about the right age for her character). Still, giving the fact that teenagers are often portrayed by actors in their early 20s (have you seen literally anything ever broadcast on The CW network?), Chalamet could play his character at a teen, while Isaac and Ferguson could play their characters similar to their own actual ages and everything would seem to work out just fine, actually. Plus, you know, it’s a sci-fi movies and has everything from CGI to prosthetics to the all powerful property of the audience’s suspension of disbelief to make everything work out. Natalie Portman played a queen who met a little boy and eventually married him in the Star Wars prequels, so this is hardly a scandal in comparison. In fact, suddenly remembering that Hayden Christensen is technically Adam Driver’s onscreen grandfather is somehow hitting harder right now.
With the question of age squared away, perhaps you’d like a reminder of who these characters actually are. Well, Isaac’s daddy character Duke Leto is the leader of aristocratic house whose star is on the rise in the realm of intergalactic politics so much so that the current emperor fears he may soon challenge him for the throne. At the same time, Leto has fallen in love with a concubine who is part of a breeding program (that would be Ferguson’s character). She was supposed to produce a daughter, but the two have a son instead (which is how we get Chalamet’s character). That little boy undergoes secretive training, and, well, you get it from there …he’s the chosen one destined to save and rule the universe.
Long popular as a novel, Dune was considered practically un-filmable for years, and previous attempts (including David Lynch’s 1984 movie version and a 2000 SyFy channel mini-series) were met with mixed reviews.
Though the fact that French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Blade Runner 2049) is charged with this version has greatly excited sci-fi heads, and apparently some of Hollywood’s best talent. In addition the central family, WWE and Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista, and European film legends Charlotte Rampling and Stellan Skarsgaard are also signed on.
Still, with filming set to begin sometime this Spring, there’s still plenty of roles left to be cast, including Chalamet’s love interest Princess Irulan and teenage badboy Feyd-Rautha. What’s Noah Centineo doing?
