10 Mar – Florence Pugh may be joining the cast of the upcoming sequel of director Denis Villenueve's "Dune". Variety reported that the "Black Widow" actress is currently in negotiation to join Part 2 of the epic sci-fi film, which is set to begin production this summer. If everything goes well, Pugh may be playing the role of Princess Irulan Corrino, a royal who becomes romantically entangled with Paul Atreides (played by Timothee Chalamet). The upcoming sequel will bring back most of the original cast, including Zendaya, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, Stellan Skarsgard, and Dave Bautista. In a previous interview, Villenueve stated that he plans to have the sequel centering on Zendaya's character, Chani.
"Dune" grossed nearly US$400 million worldwide when it was released last year, and bagged ten nominations at the Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. The sequel is slated for release in October 2023. On the other hand, Pugh has a variety of films to be released soon, including Olivia Wilde's "Don't Worry Darling" and "The Wonder". She was most recently seen in Disney+'s series, "Hawkeye", reprising her role as Yelena Belova.