It’s well known that Robert Pattinson likes to walk on the weird side. So when the opportunity arrived to become a part of the Dune saga, it simply had to happen, despite his packed schedule – this year has seen him star in The Drama, The Odyssey, and Primetime already, while he’s currently shooting The Batman: Part II. Entering the world of Spice, sandworms, psychic visions and more, Pattinson was ready to embrace both his blockbuster instincts and his penchant for cinematic oddity. Though, director Denis Villeneuve initially saw it differently.
Pattinson arrives in Dune: Part Three as assassin Scytale, a shape-shifting ‘Face Dancer’ from the genetic-meddling Bene Tleilax people. Sounds perfect for some Pattinson weirdness, right? “I went into it being like, ‘I want to look like an alien,’” the actor tells Empire, “and initially Denis was saying, ‘Well, I think he’s got to fit in with everybody. I think he just looks like you. He’s normal.’” It was not quite what Pattinson hoped for. “I was a little bit disappointed,” he acknowledges.
But, before the shoot came around, Villeneuve settled on something much more up Pattinson’s alley. What if Scytale had an eerie blankness, with bleached hair and no eyebrows? “It wasn’t even that far before I started shooting; he sent me an email saying, ‘I’ve had this idea of a look,’” recalls Pattinson. “And I’m like, ‘Okay! This is very much not like a normal guy at all.’” The result is the perfect mix of Pattinson’s sensibilities, and Villeneuve’s approach to Frank Herbert’s source material. “It’s like he’s grown in a lab,” Pattinson says of the character. “There’s a little element of a baby about him, which I really, really liked.” Bring on the madness.
Read Empire’s full Dune: Part Three cover story – speaking to Denis Villeneuve, Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Anya Taylor-Joy, Robert Pattinson, Jason Momoa, and Florence Pugh about the epic final chapter – in the December 2026 issue, on sale Thursday October 22. Pre-order a copy online here. Dune: Part Three comes to cinemas from December 18.