Christopher Walken’s Dune 2 Gig Is Basically a 24-Year-Old Joke

Summary:

• Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two has been out since February 6 and has racked up over $369 million worldwide.
• The film’s villain, Emperor Shaddam IV, is portrayed by the multitalented thespian Christopher Walken, who reportedly received $200,000 for the role.
• While Walken’s casting may seem to continue his penchant for villainous parts, his involvement may actually stem from his guest appearance in the music video for Fatboy Slim’s classic big beat track “Weapon of Choice”.
• The song, released back in 2001, has several allusions to the original Dune novels, which Walken did not realize until very recently.

The stars truly aligned when the time came to cast the role of Dune: Part Two’s main antagonist, the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV, who is played in the 2024 blockbuster by the inimitable Hollywood character actor Christopher Walken. His casting is one that was more than twenty years in the making – and it all started when Walken starred in the music video for beatmaker Fatboy Slim’s 2001 funky hit song “Weapon of Choice”.

Walken, who had studied tap dancing before breaking out into film, volunteered to appear in the video, asking director Spike Jonze if he could film Walken’s moves while he was still in sporting form.

While the ensuing video has become famous for Walken’s tongue-in-cheek dancing, what may not be obvious to certain observers is the fact that the lyrics of the Fatboy Slim song have direct references to some key aspects of the Dune franchise’s canon.

The video features Walken grooving through the empty lobby of a hotel while a heavily-distorted voice in the background utters lines that refer to a specific arrhythmic pattern of walking and guide the listener to stay clear of “the worm”.

In the original Dune novel by Frank Herbert, the nomadic Fremen navigate the largely deserted world of Arrakis by walking in weird, arrhythmic steps to avoid attracting the chthonian Shai-Hulud, also known as the sandworms, who are drawn to the rhythm of regular steps on the surface. Walken seems to mimic this sandwalking technique while performing in the video.

In another possible reference to Dune, the song’s title, which also shows up in the lyrics, may be describing the way in which the Bene Gesserit, female spymasters with psionic abilities, use their voice to bend others to their will.

Curiously, those hidden tidbits in the lyrics add up quite nicely when taking the Walken’s Dune 2 part into account. The prescience of the Fatboy Slim banger did not escape the attention of fans, who recognized the apt foreshadowing of the track.

What’s even more amusing about the association is that it’s apparently news to Walken. The star, soon to turn 81, realized that he was unaware of the connection when it was pointed out to him shortly after the film’s premiere.

Then again, what you don’t know can’t hurt you, right?