Jenna Ortega Auditioned to Play Zendaya’s Role in ‘Dune’

Jenna Ortega may be Tim Burton’s latest muse and collaborator, but the actress has her sights set on working with “Dune” director Denis Villeneuve soon too.

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Ortega said during the BuzzFeed Celeb video, below, that she auditioned to star in Villeneuve’s “Dune” for the role of Chani. Zendaya was later cast in the role.

“I think I auditioned for ‘Dune’ when I was about 15. I remember just being a big fan of that film and the franchise and everything like that and being really excited for that interview because Denis is one of my favorite filmmakers,” Ortega said, adding of the part, “I think it was Chani, I think it was Zendaya’s, but they weren’t saying that, everything was very secret.”

Ortega meanwhile stars in Burton’s “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” sequel and is reprising her titular role for Netflix series “Wednesday” Season 2.

“We’re shooting episodes 201 and 204 right now and there’s a lot happening in those episodes and they feel very prominent,” Ortega said of the show. “It feels like every day we’re tackling a big scene…”

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Ortega is now a producer on Season 2 . She told Vanity Fair that she originally wanted to be a producer on the show going into its first season.

“I think it’s natural to be fearful of signing your life away and wanting some sort of agency or wanting confirmation that your voice would be heard,” Ortega said of joining the series. “I’m aware of my position as an actor. I know that I’m not in charge….But I think with someone like Wednesday, who is in every scene, it only makes sense for that person to be that involved in what’s going on behind the scenes because she’s onscreen every second of the project. And then I think a lot of the work that I ended up doing, and a lot of the conversations that I was having were more of a producer’s conversations half the time.”

But Ortega could still make her “Dune” dreams come true: Villeneuve has been teasing of a third film , which is believed to be set for a late 2026 release . Warner Bros. added an “Untitled WB/Legendary/Denis Villeneuve Event Film in IMAX” for December 18, 2026 earlier this year.

Plus, there’s also the “Dune: Prophecy” HBO series which is inspired by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s novel “Sisterhood of Dune.” The upcoming show is set 10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) in Denis Villeneuve’s films. Emily Watson and Olivia Williams star as two Harkonnen sisters who create the Bene Gesserit female-led sect.