Rebecca Ferguson, 39, hyped up Dune 2 and her character Lady Jessica in a new interview. Rebecca, who plays Timothée Chalamet‘s on-screen mom in the sci-fi franchise, told Town & Country that Lady Jessica goes on “an unpredicted journey” in the upcoming sequel that hits theaters this November. “She’s a mom protecting and training someone, something,” Rebecca said in the interview, published June 6. “I say something because she knows [she’s dealing with] an entity bigger than themselves.”
The Swedish actress continued, “When Paul [Timothee’s character] starts going off, she begins losing power, and it puts her on an unpredicted journey to discover who we are in response to other people. That’s when we find ourselves again.”
Rebecca stars with Timothee, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgard, and more in the Dune films, which are based on Frank Herbert‘s 1965 novel. Director Denis Villeneuve told Town & Country that he changed some of the story for the sequel so that Rebecca had a bigger role.
“Lady Jessica kind of disappears in the second part of the book, and I made sure as I was writing the screenplay to do the opposite, to make sure that she will be active, to bring her back to the front of the story,” Denis said. “I’m looking forward for the world to see what Rebecca has accomplished. She’s not afraid to go very far away. She’s a force that I can count on.”
Denis went on to praise Rebecca in the interview, calling her a “passionate, warm human being who loves to quickly break the ice.” The French-Canadian filmmaker also said, “She has a huge imagination. She’s someone who has no fear to walk into the zone of the unknown. She can make you believe in the extraterrestrial, in other cultures, in different worlds or dimensions. Some actors are very down to earth, but she’s someone who can fly high.”
Rebecca is having a moment in Hollywood right now. In addition to Dune 2, she’s also starring in the next two Mission: Impossible films with Tom Cruise. In the Town & Country interview, Tom said that Rebecca is a perfect fit for her role as Ilsa Faust in the action spy franchise. “Rebecca is enormously talented, and when she decides to do something, she makes it happen,” Tom said. Rebecca is also currently starring in the popular Apple TV+ apocalyptic series Silo.