By the sound of it, MacLachlan’s only interested in the recent “Dune” movies as a viewer, not an actor. “I’ve done my ‘Dune’ work,” he said in a recent interview with MovieWeb, “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.”
It seems that as acclaimed as Villeneuve may be as a director, in MacLachlan’s eyes there’s no real replacement for original “Dune” director David Lynch. MacLachlan also worked with Lynch on the acclaimed “Blue Velvet” and three seasons of “Twin Peaks” over the course of 25 years. Lynch has taken MacLachlan to some truly weird places over the decades, and MacLachlan’s always seemed happy to go there. As he explained:
“Well, we just have a connection, and I think we really love each other as friends, and we love each other in the working relationship… we have some kind of a balance between us [that is] really effective on screen.”
It’s a dynamic that feels heartwarmingly similar to Villeneuve’s relationship with the new Paul, Timothée Chalamet, who was always Villeneuve’s first pick for the role. Chalamet himself has already had a unique career with a lot of weird, varied roles, which might be why MacLachlan’s always seemed supportive of him. When asked in a 2019 interview if he had any advice for the new Paul, MacLachlan jokingly offered, “Go easy on the spice.”