The first rumors of Robert Pattinson’s involvement in Dune: Part Three began circulating in April 2025, and five months later, we still don’t exactly know what’s happening with his character. Most reports have claimed that he’s circling the villainous role of Scytale, a Face Dancer who infiltrates Paul’s court and organizes a conspiracy to end his rule.

But with filming on Dune 3 firmly underway, there’s still been no official comment about Pattinson’s involvement. Neither Denis Villeneuve nor Pattinson himself has commented on the matter, and time is quickly running out for the crew to make an official statement before filming is wrapped later this year.

With Dune: Part Two, the newcomers to the cast were announced much earlier in the filming process. We knew Florence Pugh was playing Princess Irulan, and we knew Austin Butler was playing Feyd-Rautha. The silence surrounding Pattinson’s character suggests that not everything is as it seems with Scytale.

Robert Pattinson’s Rumored Dune Messiah Character Doesn’t Really Make Sense

Dune Messiah is one of the best Dune books, and much of this greatness comes from its slow-paced, plot-forward narrative of the Spacing Guild and the Bene Gesserit working together to kill Emperor Paul and bring his destructive “holy war” to an end. Scytale is a key figure in this conspiracy, and he drives much of the story forward.

Therefore, it’s easy to understand why fans are so excited to see Scytale brought to life on the screen. He’s a charismatic, manipulative villain with a strong personality and fascinating powers – it’s no wonder people want to see Pattinson tackle this juicy role. However, the biggest problem is that Scytale logistically can’t be played by a single actor.

The whole point of Scytale’s character arc is that he’s constantly in disguise, employing different faces and ᴀssuming new idenтιтies to put the pieces of his plan in motion. In many ways, there is no “real” Scytale – just the vast array of disguises that he uses to get closer to Paul and trick his allies.

In order to maintain this key element of the book, Dune 3 needs to use several different actors to play Scytale. There needs to be a face that he uses among his fellow conspirators, a face that he uses among the Fremen people on Arrakis, a face that he uses to trick Paul — Pattinson simply can’t play them all.

Some fans have theorized that Pattinson will simply play Scytale’s many faces with varying degrees of prosthetics and special effects. While this is a very creative way of overcoming the problem, it seems like a weak in-universe excuse. Paul Atreides is a complex and flawed character, but it’s hard to believe he wouldn’t spot the similarities.

Having multiple actors adopt the many faces of Scytale is the only way to demonstrate just how skilled and technical his Face Dancer abilities are. Frank Herbert describes him as a master of his craft, so these disguises need to be perfect. He even transforms into a young Fremen girl at one point, which essentially rules out Pattinson for this role.

Robert Pattinson Could Be Playing A Surprise Character

While the majority of the new characters in Dune: Part Two were announced before the film’s release, there’s one example where this isn’t the case: Anya Taylor-Joy as Alia Atreides. She’s firm proof that Villeneuve is willing to include surprise cameos in this franchise, and Robert Pattinson could be next in line.

If Pattinson were playing one of the major Dune Messiah characters, it seems logical that his role would have been announced by now. The simplest explanation is that he’ll be another surprise character – in the same vein as Alia Atreides. This means we have to look at characters who aren’t in Dune Messiah, but could appear early.

The most interesting candidate is Prince Farad’n, the heir to the Corrino Empire through Irulan’s sister, Princess Wensicia. In the books, he isn’t introduced until Children of Dune (when he’s just fourteen years old), but Anya Taylor-Joy’s appearance as an adult Alia proves that he’s willing to bend the timeline somewhat.

The possibility of some Children of Dune characters appearing in Dune 3 has been theorized for a while, but this is the only evidence that it may be happening. Paul and Alia’s ability to look through their lineage also means that Pattinson doesn’t have to be playing a modern-day character — he could be one of the siblings’ ancestors or descendants.

This means that even characters like Leto II Atreides (the son of Paul and Chani) aren’t off the table. The ending of Dune Messiah proves that Paul and Leto II have some kind of psychic connection, and Villeneuve could be taking advantage of this to introduce Leto much earlier than expected through some kind of prescient vision.

Of course, it’s also possible that Pattinson’s character is being kept quiet not because of who he’s playing, but because of how they’re going to bring the character to life. There’s been lots of dicsussion about characters like Edric, the Guild Navigator who’s described as a “fish-like” alien in a floating tank of spice.

Perhaps this is Pattinson’s role, and Villeneuve is keeping it quiet because he doesn’t want to give viewers any preemptive clues about how he’s planning to bring such a bizarre and incomprehensible character to life on the big screen. The possibilities are endless, but this just serves as further proof that Pattinson’s Scytale isn’t as inevitable as many fans think.