Denis Villeneuve’s Dune might not have much in common with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the two franchises share some truly talented actors.

Dune: Part Two delivers the next installment of Denis Villeneuve’s epic adaptation, bringing the events of Frank Herbert’s first Dune novel to a close. As Paul continues his quest to avenge his father’s murder and ensure House Atreides’ survival, the sequel’s cast expands to introduce new players, such as the Padishah Emperor and his family, while also delving further into pre-established characters that weren’t as prominent in the first movie, like Chani and Gurney Halleck. The cast of the newest Dune adaptation gives great performances all around, and many of them are already familiar to fans of another prevalent franchise.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe may not have that much in common with Dune on the surface, but the two movie series share quite a few actors. Some of their MCU roles share similar traits with their Dune characters, but in other cases, they couldn’t be more different. Regardless, each character’s portrayal speaks to the talent of the actor behind them. Here are eight such actors and who they play in Dune and the MCU.

Dave Bautista Brings Glossu Rabban Harkonnen and Drax the Destroyer to Life

Dave Bautista portrays Glossu Rabban Harkonnen, the Baron’s nephew and main lackey in Dune and Dune 2. As the previous ruler of Arrakis, Rabban takes it personally when the Emperor appoints House Atreides as his replacement. He then personally leads the attack on Arrakeen and has been reinstated as governor by the beginning of Dune 2. However, Rabban has trouble wiping out the local Fremen, much to his uncle’s annoyance.

Before his turn in Dune, Bautista gained popularity as Drax the Destroyer in the Guardians of the Galaxy films and later Avengers movies. While Drax may share some of Rabban’s hotheadedness and lack of strategic thinking, Drax is undoubtedly much more sympathetic, having lost his wife and daughter when Ronan the Accuser attacked their planet. He also has a sense of humor and isn’t constantly trying to prove himself like Rabban is.

Josh Brolin Is Gurney Halleck and Thanos the Mad Titan

As Gurney Halleck, the weapons master of House Atreides in both Dune movies, Josh Brolin gets to showcase multiple talents. Gurney is, of course, a very skilled fighter, having taught Paul to defend himself and going head-to-head with Rabban. He’s also a musician who plays the baliset and sings, and Dune 2 gives audiences a sample of his talents. Being one of Paul’s mentors, Gurney is immensely supportive and loyal to the Atreides heir.

Brolin’s Thanos plays a completely different role in the MCU, serving as the overarching villain of the Infinity Saga. Similar to Gurney encouraging Paul to use his status as the suspected Lisan al Gaib to his advantage, Thanos is willing to use whatever is at his disposal to achieve his goals. However, unlike Gurney, Thanos will sacrifice his loved ones to get what he wants and doesn’t take orders from anyone. Thanos also firmly believes what he’s doing is right, which makes him even more dangerous.

David Dastmalchian Portrays Piter De Vries, Kurt Goreshter and Veb

David Dastmalchian plays Piter De Vries, the Harkonnens’ Mentat in Dune. He is often shown advising the Baron on various matters. When Rabban throws a tantrum over the Emperor appointing House Atreides, for instance, Piter is the one to tell him that it may not have been a slight against the Harkonnens. Piter is also present in Arrakeen after the Harkonnens and the Emperor’s Sardaukar troops attack and meets his end when Duke Leto Atreides releases poison into the air.

In the time between the releases of Dune and Dune 2, Dastmalchian became one of a handful of actors to play multiple characters in the MCU. He first portrayed another highly intelligent person, Kurt Goreshter, a hacker who works with Scott Lang in the first two Ant-Man movies. Dastmalchian then got the chance to voice a new character, a creature named Veb, in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Unlike Piter, Kurt and Veb are heroes who face their fears and look out for their friends.

Oscar Isaac Plays Duke Leto Atreides and Moon Knight

Following in the footsteps of Jürgen Prochnow and William Hurt, Oscar Isaac takes on the role of Duke Leto Atreides in Dune. While Leto knows that taking over Arrakis might be a trap, he feels he has no choice but to obey the Emperor’s wishes. Leto does his best to keep his family safe, but he’s captured during the Harkonnens’ attack. To make up for his betrayal, Dr. Yueh arms Leto with a poison capsule, allowing him to take several Harkonnens with him to the grave.

Isaac went on to play Steven Grant, Marc Spector and Jake Lockley in Moon Knight. While audiences didn’t get to see much of Jake, they got to watch Steven discover that he had dissociative identity disorder and was sharing a body with Marc. They didn’t initially get along, but the two learned to accept and care for each other and fought side by side to save the world. None of them have much in common with Leto personality-wise, but Leto, Steven and Marc are all heroes in their own right.

Babs Olusanmokun Is Jamis and Sowande

Babs Olusanmokun plays Jamis, a Fremen in Dune and Dune 2. Along with his visions of Chani, Paul dreams that Janis will act as his mentor as he learns the ways of the Fremen. It makes for quite a shock when the two face off in a duel to the death, which Paul wins. That said, Paul’s premonition sort of comes true in Dune 2 when he has another vision of Jamis, who advises him during a crucial point in his journey.

Before Dune, Olusanmokun previously portrayed Sowande, a founding member of the treacherous organization known as The Hand in The Defenders. He was responsible for Elektra’s resurrection and fought Luke Cage before being captured by the team of heroes. While he held up under questioning, Sowande was ultimately killed by Stick when he tried to escape. Sowande may have been more morally dubious, but he and Jamis are both smart warriors.

Florence Pugh Portrays Princess Irulan and Yelena Belova

Introduced in Dune 2, Florence Pugh plays Princess Irulan, the eldest daughter of the Emperor. Irulan has been trained by the Bene Gesserit and is more knowledgeable of their plans than her father. She’s also incredibly intelligent, being the first to figure out that Paul Atreides survived the attack on Arrakeen and advising her father on how he should respond. Irulan later shows her compassion when Paul moves against her father and she offers her hand in marriage in exchange for sparing his life.

Pugh currently plays the vastly different Yelena Belova, adopted sister of Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, in the MCU. Introduced in Black Widow, Yelena is just as skilled in combat as her sister but is more prone to joking around. That said, Yelena is also fiercely loyal, helping free her fellow Widows from their mind control and going after those she thinks are responsible for Natasha’s death. While their personalities and skill sets may differ, Irulan and Yelena both place a high value on family.

Stellan Skarsgård Plays Baron Vladimir Harkonnen and Dr. Erik Selvig

Stellan Skarsgård portrays the villainous Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, who works to bring down House Atreides with the Emperor’s aid in Dune. While he succeeds in capturing Leto, he’s greatly weakened by the poison that Leto releases with his dying breath. In Dune 2, the Baron continues to oversee his family’s activities and isn’t pleased with Rabban’s handling of Arrakis. He then turns to his other nephew, Feyd-Rautha, to take over as his heir.

In the MCU, Skarsgård plays Dr. Erik Selvig, who couldn’t be further from the Baron. Selvig is an astrophysicist working with Dr. Jane Foster when they meet and befriend Thor. He frequently gets sucked into the Norse god of thunder’s adventures on Earth, with his genius-level intellect being extremely helpful to those around him. Unlike the Baron, Selvig cares deeply for his friends and always does what he can to help them.

Zendaya Is Chani and Michelle “MJ” Jones-Watson

After appearing mainly in Paul’s dreams in the first movie, Zendaya gets to delve deeper into the Fremen warrior Chani in Dune 2. When they first meet, Chani isn’t very impressed by Paul and thinks he’ll die in his duel with Jamis. After he wins, Paul starts to gain Chani’s respect as he learns the ways of the Fremen and fights against his role as the prophesied Lisan al Gaib. The two grow close, but Paul’s destiny puts strain on their relationship.

Zendaya also stars as Michelle “MJ” Jones-Watson in the MCU’s Spider-Man movies. Like Chani with Paul, MJ doesn’t show much interest in Peter Parker at first, but they begin to grow closer after she befriends him and Ned Leeds. After taking note of Peter’s mysterious disappearances, MJ correctly guesses that he is Spider-Man, and the two begin dating. Unfortunately, MJ, along with the rest of the world, is forced to forget Peter Parker altogether as part of a spell to save the multiverse.

Honorable Mention: Tim Blake Nelson Will Return to the MCU as The Leader

Tim Blake Nelson was confirmed to be part of Dune 2‘s cast in January 2023, but the actor’s scenes were sadly cut for time. While his role has not been confirmed, some have speculated that he may have been cast as Count Hasimir Fenring, husband to Léa Seydoux’s Lady Margot. Count Fenring is one of the Emperor’s closest allies and a surprisingly deadly opponent. He supports his wife’s activities as a Bene Gesserit and has even received some training from her in their ways.

In the MCU’s infancy, Nelson joined the new franchise as Dr. Samuel Sterns in The Incredible Hulk. The scientist agreed to help Bruce Banner cure himself of being the Hulk but also synthesized Banner’s blood for its medical potential. Emil Blonsky forced him to use it to turn him into Abomination, but Sterns was exposed as well and began to mutate into the villain known as The Leader. Nelson is finally set to reprise his role in the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World.