In the upcoming Dune: Part Three, which will mark the third installment in Denis Villeneuve’s titular film series, the primary antagonist is Scytale, a shape-shifting Face Dancer from the Bene Tleilax. Robert Pattinson has been cast in the role.
At the same time, while Scytale is the antagonist, the narrative of the third novel, Dune Messiah, often positions Emperor Paul Atreides’ (played by Timothee Chalamet) own actions, as well as the catastrophic holy war he unleashed, as the true, moral villainy, with Scytale merely exploiting the consequences of it all.
Meanwhile, Pattinson’s character, who serves as one of the primary villains in the original novel series by Frank Herbert, leads a conspiracy to dethrone Atreides in the adaptation of Messiah, acting as a psychological threat rather than a conventional warlord.
Scytale’s Role in the Dune Messiah Book
In Messiah, which is set around 12 years after the first book, Paul is shown to be seemingly all-powerful because of Muad’Dib’s Jihad, as he is able to enact his vision for the future of humanity. But that’s when a conspiracy rises against the Emperor, with roots that extend even into his inner circle, one of the main players of the conspiracy being Scytale.
In the original books, Scytale was actually born as a Tleilaxu Face Dancer, from a race of shapeshifters engineered by the Bene Tleilax. He is one of the most manipulative and cunning figures in Frank Herbert’s lore, who not only infiltrates Paul’s inner circle through lies and deception to gain his trust, but also becomes a primary driver of the larger conspiracy that involves dethroning the Emperor.
With Pattinson cast in the role, it remains to be seen how he performs as Scytale. But looking at all the morally ambiguous and dark roles he has played in the past across projects ranging from Tenet to The Batman and Mickey 17, his casting seems pretty much perfect for the role.
What Did Robert Pattinson Say About His Dune Part Three Role?
Robert Pattinson as Scytale in a still from Dune Part Three. | Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures.
Following his casting as the primary antagonist of Part Three, Robert Pattinson has also commented on what fans can expect from his villainous character. At a launch event for the trailer release of this upcoming installment, the actor said about Scytale:
He’s an unusual character in the book. I mean, you can’t really tell whose side he’s on, and it’s kind of what makes him quite interesting.
And that’s practically all the information Pattinson had to spare about his role in the respective sci-fi flick. But as magnetic a charmer as the actor himself is, he knows how to embody characters who are weirder than they seem and who shouldn’t be fully trusted, so Scytale shouldn’t really be all that hard for him.
It remains to be seen, though, just how exceptionally Pattinson will be bringing about this role. What do you think about it all? Do you have your hopes up for this forthcoming installment? Make sure to share your thoughts and opinions with us in the comments section below!
Dune Part Three hits the screens on December 18, 2026.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
