Original Dune star Kyle MacLachlan doesn't want to cameo in the new movies

The Dune franchise is having a major moment right now, probably its biggest since Frank Herbert's original Dune novel came out in 1965. People love the new movies from director Denis Villeneuve, which star Timothée Chalamet as space prince turned desert messiah Paul Atreides. Cineplex CEO Ellis Jacob credits the movie with helping his theater chain's revenue rise when many other chains are struggling, Dune: Part Two has made over $700 million at the box office, and everyone is eager for Villeneuve and company to return to Arrakis for Dune: Part Three, which will adapt Herbert's novel Dune Messiah.

Many filmmakers have visited the Dune universe over the years, including David Lynch in his 1984 movie and John Harrison in his 2000 TV adaptation for the Sci-Fi Channel. Both of those versions have their fans, but neither came close to the success of Villeneuve's adaptation. What about bringing in actors from those movies into Dune: Part Three, something fun for the fans?

Kyle MacLachlan, who played Paul Atreides in the 1984 movie, doesn't sound interested. "I've done my Dune work," he told MovieWeb in early April, "but I am excited to see what comes. I've not seen the second [Dune movie] yet, or the completion of the first book. I love the book. I've loved it since I was a little kid. Anytime I can go see something that has anything Dune-related, I will be happy. And I think they did a marvelous job. So, I look forward to seeing it."

I think it'd be fun to see MacLachlan turn up in the background as a Fremen or a House Atreides attendant or something, but it does seem a little wink wink-nudge nudge for a franchise that thus far has taken itself pretty seriously, so I'm not going to shed too many tears over his absence. The Fremen wouldn't appreciate the waste of water.

Support grows for the world's biggest Dune superfan to appear in the next movie

Another person I would love to see in a future Dune movie is Mac J, who posts under the name @batsdune on X. Mac has gone viral on account of being the biggest Dune fan in the world, having seen Part One over 200 times (he can rattle off the whole script from memory) and seeing Part Two nearly 30 times in the theaters now. The official Dune account took notice, and teamed up with Regal Movies, Fandango and Legendary to get Mac 10 free tickets, 10 free buckets of popcorn, and a Dune carepackage containing artwork, a beanie, a hoodie, and 70 millimeter film strips of the film.

“I read the books when I was in like eighth grade," Mac told Unilad. "It's just been such a super important book and franchise to me. I’ve been waiting for this movie for so long, and it's just like cathartic almost.”

Some of Mac's followers have suggested that the next natural step is for him to appear as an extra in Dune Messiah, an idea he is very much on board with. “Man, being in Dune... that'd be the coolest thing ever. I would love to do that," he said. “That just sounds so unreal. If that ever happened, I don't think I'd be able to comprehend it.”

Putting Mac in Dune: Part Three would be a fun way to reward this kind of homegrown fan enthusiasm, which is always something worth doing. Make it happen, Warner Bros. Discovery! As for MacLachlan, he went on to have a long career that included multiple collaborations with Lynch, appearing in the director's 1986 film Blue Velvet as well as on the TV series Twin Peaks. You can see him right now in the Fallout show on Amazon Prime Video.

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