Zendaya hints at larger role for Chani in Dune sequel

Zendaya reassured fans in a new interview that there is a lot more to explore in the now-confirmed sequel to Dune, suggesting her character will play a far more prominent role in the franchise’s second instalment.

Denis Villeneuve’s film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic science fiction novel, Dune released to audience and critical acclaim last month, but many fans of Zendaya, who is prominently featured in trailers and promotions of the film, were disappointed to find out her character, Chani, is barely in the film at all.

Over the course of a film spanning more than two and a half hours, Chani mostly appears in brief visions until Paul Atreides, the film’s protagonist played by Timothee Chalamet, meets her in the final minutes. In a new interview with Deadline, Zendaya offered hints at what to expect in the second film.

“I want to grow with the characters I play, and with the people that I get to learn from,” Zendaya said. “Anybody who has read the books knows there’s so much more to explore and deal with. What was cool for me having not been around for much of the first shoot was getting to see the movie from a completely fresh perspective, because I hadn’t seen the sets and the scenes for most of the movie. And watching it felt like just the beginning of this story.”

As fans of Herbert’s novels know, Chani plays a much larger role in the latter half of the first book. Nonetheless, it’s going to be quite some time before Zendaya reprises the role of Chani, as the sequel is still in the very early stages of production and isn’t scheduled for release until 2023.