Dune: Part Two Star Reflects on Wanting to Play James Bond: "What Was I Thinking?"

From Elvis to Dune: Part Two, Austin Butler has already been featured in some pretty significant projects. As Butler has earned critical acclaim and a number of new fans, the actor is revisiting one career aspiration that he no longer has. During a recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Butler revisited a video from Teen Vogue, in which he shared his hopes of playing the first American James Bond. 

"That's crazy," Butler revealed. "What was I thinking? ...I grew up loving James Bond." When asked by Fallon if he'd still want to play Bond, Butler replied, "Nah, he's gotta be British."

Who Will Be the Next James Bond?

At the moment, an actor for the upcoming reboot of James Bond has yet to be cast. According to franchise producer Barbara Broccoli, the task of finding a successor to Daniel Craig's Bond is not easy. 

"I go back to GoldenEye when everyone was saying 'the cold war is over, the wall is over, Bond is dead, no need for Bond, the whole world's at peace and now there's no villains' – and boy was that wrong!" Broccoli explained in an interview last year. "Daniel gave us the ability to mine the emotional life of the character … and also the world was ready for it. I think these movies reflect the time they are in, and there's a big, big road ahead reinventing it for the next chapter and we haven't even begun with that."

Who Does Austin Butler Play in Dune: Part Two?

Butler is cast as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in Dune: Part Two, the heir to Baron Harkonnen's empire who becomes a significant adversary for Paul Atredies (Timothee Chalamet).

"I'm always nervous. I always feel an incredible pressure," Butler explained in an interview with Interview Magazine last fall. "I felt that when I was 12 years old. Even if the material doesn't really require it, I feel I need to do the best that I possibly can. That sets a bar, and then I'm always afraid that I'm going to miss something. With Dune it was interesting, because I met with Denis [Villeneuve], and we got along very well, and started talking about the character. At that point, we didn't even have a script, but as we started talking about Feyd, my imagination started running, and I started to feel the terror of the challenge. That's what I'm guided by now: What really scares me?"

What Is Dune: Part Two About?

Dune: Part Two will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee. 

The big-screen epic Dune: Part Two includes Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Léa Seydoux, with Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, and Javier Bardem. Denis Villeneuve directed from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jon Spaihts based on Frank Herbert's iconic novel. 

What do you think of Austin Butler's new stance on possibly playing James Bond? Who would you like to see play the iconic role next? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!