When it came to casting the Emperor of the Known Universe Shaddam IV in the Dune franchise, Christopher Walken was the perfect choice. Despite limited screen time, the legendary actor portrayed the guilt-ridden yet power-hungry Emperor in Dune: Part Two, masking his iconic Queens accent to the maximum extent.
However, Christopher Walken’s association with the Dune franchise does not begin with the film, but actually twenty-three years ago. The actor reportedly only recently realized his more than two-decade connection with the material as he starred in the music video for Fatboy Slim’s Weapon of Choice. The song reportedly had references to the novels by Frank Herbert.
Christopher Walken Realizes His Dune Connection
When Denis Villeneuve approached Christopher Walken to play the Emperor Shaddam IV Corrino, the Pulp Fiction actor was reportedly on an acting hiatus. Walken was last seen in 2020 when he starred in three films but then took a break. The actor then only returned after being impressed by Denis Villeneuve and the cast.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Christopher Walken mentioned why he was attracted to Dune: Part Two,
“I had, of course, seen the first ‘Dune’ a number of times. I loved it, and I admired [Villeneuve’s] movies. ‘Arrival,’ I thought, was wonderful. And to be with all those terrific actors —Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin, Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh and Stellan Skarsgård…It was only, I think, three weeks. So, everything about it was attractive.”
Though the actor did not realize it, Christopher Walken seemed to be destined to star in the Dune franchise. Twenty-three years ago, the veteran star featured in the music video for English DJ Fatboy Slim’s Weapon of Choice. The actor was seen dancing in an empty hotel to the music, which featured lyrics referring to the Dune franchise.
One particular line in the song described the Fremen’s way of sand-walking to avoid the sandworms. The lyric said, “Walk without rhythm and you won’t attract the worm”, which was a direct reference to the novels. In an interview with GQ, Christopher Walken seemed to be surprised by the revelation. He said,
“No, you know, that’s the first I’ve heard of that. You telling me right now is the first time I’ve heard that. You mean the lyrics of the Fatboy Slim song refer to … yeah, in the movie they kind of do that slide and dance, when they walk in the desert, they do that kind of ice skating thing…It never crossed my mind, but you’re right. He’s a very interesting guy, the Fatboy Slim guy. He must’ve read the book.”
The iconic music video had a cultural re-emergence when the casting of Christopher Walken as the Emperor in Dune: Part Two was announced, with many pointing out the clairvoyance in the video.
Christopher Walken Rehearsed For Six Weeks For Weapon Of Choice
The 2001 music video of Fatboy Slim’s Weapon of Choice saw a shade younger Christopher Walken in a suit, dancing and grooving around an empty hotel. The video was directed by Spike Jonze, known for helming the Joaquin Phoenix starrer Her, and was a huge hit upon release.
The steps looked simple enough, bar a few stunts, which Christopher Walken reportedly rehearsed for six weeks. It was also reportedly choreographed by Michael Rooney, the son of Pete’s Dragon star Mickey Rooney. Walken said to GQ,
“As a matter of fact, I worked on it for six weeks. And then we shot it very quickly because they shot it in a hotel in downtown Los Angeles and they had to close the place off to some extent. We had to shoot at night because there were fewer people around—I think we shot from midnight to six in the morning. But the preparation for it took a very long time.”
The music video received many accolades including winning six awards at the MTV Video Music Awards. Spike Jonze won the award for Best Direction while Rooney won the award for Best Choreography. The video also won the Breakthrough Video award which was given to experimental music videos.
