Austin Butler's Dune: Part Two character reminds us another sci-fi character

The long-awaited first trailer for Dune: Part Two has arrived, exactly six months before the movie makes its premiere exclusively in movie theaters on November 3. In it, we get to catch back up with Timothèe Chalamet's Paul Atreides as he tries to ride a sandworm, flirt with Zendaya's Chani and try to lead the Fremen of Arrakis to victory. But we also get our first look at some of the exciting new additions to the Dune franchise, including Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan Corrino, Léa Seydoux as Lady Margot and Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen.

To no surprise, it's the first look at Austin Butler that is getting many people's attention, mostly for how strikingly different it is for the Oscar-nominated actor, as you can see above. Butler is going to adopt the pale visage of the Harkonnen clan that we saw in Stellan Skarsgård's Baron Harkonnen and Dave Bautista's Glossu Rabban Harkonnen in the first Dune, including the shaved head and eyebrows.

While it is striking to see the look on Butler, who many truly got to know from his Oscar-nominated performance as Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis in 2022, it's also oddly reminiscent of another character in sci-fi history — the engineers from Ridley Scott's Prometheus.

It's funny that two legendary sci-fi directors like Denis Villeneuve and Scott created characters that are so similar in appearance in two different franchises. Perhaps it's just a coincidence or maybe Villeneuve is giving a nod to Scott; the two do have a shared history, with Villeneuve directing Blade Runner 2049, the sequel to Scott's Blade Runner. Hopefully in the press cycle ahead of Dune: Part Two's release, someone will get an answer on the similarities.

We weren't the only ones to spot Butler's resemblance to the engineers:

Dune: Part Two explores the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.

Chalamet, Zendaya, Butler, Pugh, Seydoux, Skarsgård, Bautisa, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Stephen McKinnley Henderson, Charlotte Rampling and Christopher Walken star in Dune: Part Two. Villeneuve directed the movie and co-wrote it with Jon Spaihts.

Watch the trailer directly below:

Check out some of the other fan reactions to Austin Butler's appearance in the Dune: Part Two trailer:

Dune: Part Two premieres exclusively in movie theaters on November 3.