Zendaya featured prominently in the marketing for director Denis Villeneuve’s long-awaited Dune. However, when it came to the film itself, Zendaya had just seven minutes in total of screen time and her wide fanbase noticed. The underwhelming use of the actor in the film has stirred up plenty of outrage on social media.
All over Twitter, fans made their disappointment known. Many expressed they felt the film’s marketing, posters and Zendaya’s participation in the press tour was completely misleading, since the actor was ultimately not presented as a major character. The fact that her character was not a major figure in the Dune novels did not do much to assuage their disappointment.
The credits were longer than Zendaya’s camera time in Dune
— mac (@MacDoesIt) October 24, 2021
Now see, all the Dune fans coming out like “well if you had read the book you’d know her character isn’t….” I DON’T WANT TO READ THE BOOK I WANT TO SEE ZENDAYA WHAT’S NOT CLICKING STEVEN
— Lane (@lanewriteswords) October 22, 2021
Gotta give Zendaya credit. She’s been working that #Dune promotional tour like someone who had more than five lines in the movie. Attagirl.
— Tom and Lorenzo (@tomandlorenzo) October 23, 2021
ZENDAYA WAS THE 4TH MOST PAID ACTOR IN DUNE?????????
— rose SAW DUNE (@petermjssaddict) October 27, 2021
Zendaya plays Chani, a young Fremen who becomes Paul’s love interest. The actor appeared in many interviews for Dune and features as one of the main characters on the poster but, as mentioned, only appears for seven minutes in the entire film. It was previously reported that Zendaya only filmed for four days, which was substantially less than her co-stars. In a previous interview, she acknowledged that hers was not a major role. “My part is very, very small in this movie and that’s why I’m so excited to see it, to see what everyone’s been up to…. [Denis and I] had a little discussion about who Chani is and the strength she possesses. She’s a fighter, that’s what her people are. I only really had a few days with her, so I kind of scratched the surface but it was so much fun figuring her out.”
Villeneuve revealed that at least one more film is in the works. In an interview, he went so far as to suggest that there could be a Dune trilogy, stating, “If things go well with Part Two, I could foresee the idea of maybe doing a third movie [based on] Dune Messiah. That would make sense to me.” He also confirmed that Dune Part Two will provide Zendaya’s character with a more substantial role. In an interview with Italian magazine, Il Venerdì di Repubblica, he stated, “I can’t wait to shoot the second part of Dune to get [Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya] back together. Knowing that in the next chapter Zendaya will be [a major part] of the story.”
Dune/Dune: Part 1 is now playing in theaters and streaming on HBO Max. Dune: Part 2 is tentatively slated to arrive in October 2023.
Source: Twitter
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