We almost had a Jenna Ortega Dune takeover! Picture this: Jenna Ortega, known for her spooky charm and quirky roles, almost blasting off to Arrakis for a showdown with Timothée Chalamet in the vast desert sands. But alas, the sands of casting destiny had other plans.
While promoting her latest flick, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (yes, you have to say it twice, or Michael Keaton shows up in your living room), Jenna Ortega stopped by BuzzFeed Celeb for their famous Puppy Interview. Yes, you heard that right: puppies and questions. It’s like Dune, but fluffier and with fewer sandworms.
During the Q&A, Jenna dropped a bombshell the size of a spice melange truck. “I think I auditioned for Dune when I was about 15,” she revealed. Can you imagine 15-year-old Jenna, probably fresh off some Nickelodeon gig, walking into Denis Villeneuve’s lair like, “Hey, I’m here to fight for the galaxy”? Iconic.
Jenna gushed about how much of a fan she was of the Dune franchise. (Because who isn’t a fan of epic sand dunes and mind-bending politics, right?) She was pumped about meeting Denis, who, let’s be real, is basically the Spielberg of slow-burn sci-fi. “Denis is one of my favorite filmmakers,” she shared. We can only assume they bonded over deep metaphysical questions like, “What if worms… but huge?”
Now, if you didn’t know, the role of Chani, a.k.a. Queen of Desert Coolness, eventually went to Zendaya, who crushed it alongside Timothée “Hair Game Strong” Chalamet. But back then, it was all top-secret, covert ops. Jenna added, “I think it was Chani… I think it was Zendaya’s, but they weren’t saying that. Everything was very secret.” Super hush-hush, like Mission Impossible, but with more sand.
So while Jenna Ortega didn’t end up riding the sandworms of Dune, we can only dream of an alternate universe where she and Timothée are out there dodging spice-induced hallucinations. Until then, we’ve got her in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which is probably a bit less sandy but still very supernatural.