Jenna Ortega Is Pretty Sure She Auditioned for the Part of Chani in DUNE

As a die-hard Dune fan who grew up in the era of VHS tapes and Syfy Channel miniseries, I can’t help but feel a pang of nostalgia when I think about Jenna Ortega‘s near miss with Arrakis. At just 15, she had the audacity to dream big, even before the cinematic masterpiece that is Denis Villeneuve’s Dune graced our screens.


21-year-old actress Jenna Ortega has risen to stardom remarkably fast, and is even recognized as a horror genre icon due to her roles in various productions like “X”, “Scream V”, “Scream VI”, “Wednesday” and soon “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”. Interestingly, she could have become a sci-fi icon instead. In an interview with Buzzfeed, as reported by Variety, Ortega shared that she had auditioned for a role but didn’t get it. She revealed this to be the role of Chani in Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune”, a part she contends she auditioned for six years ago. This is her account of almost embarking on an adventure to Arrakis.

When I was around 15 years old, I recall trying out for the movie “Dune”. I was quite a fan of that series and film, and I was really looking forward to the audition since Denis [Villeneuve] is one of my favorite directors. I believe it was for the role of Chani, though they weren’t explicitly saying so at the time. Everything was kept very confidential.

1st point: Kudos to 15-year-old Jenna Ortega for being a fan of the Dune series when it consisted only of the ’80s David Lynch film and a low-budget Syfy Channel miniseries. That’s quite rebellious.

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2024-08-27 22:02