Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve says he tried to delve deeper into the character of Lady Jessica in his upcoming sci-fi feature "Dune" as he didn''t want the part to be just an "expensive extra". Actor Rebecca Ferguson is portraying Lady Jessica in Villeneuve''s take on author Frank Herbert''s classic novel of the same name.

"I didn''t want Lady Jessica to be an expensive extra. Something I deeply love in the book is that there was a strong balance between the masculine power and feminine power," Villeneuve said.

Set in the distant future, the 1965 cult classic novel follows Paul Atreides, whose family assumes control of the desert planet Arrakis, which is the only known location of the galaxy''s most vital and mind-altering mineral called "spice". After Paul and his family are betrayed, the story explores themes of politics, religion, and man''s relationship to nature, as Paul leads a rebellion to restore his family''s reign. Last year, Ferguson had said that the film''s writers, Villeneuve, Jon Spaits and Eric Roth, have taken into consideration the concept of gender equality while developing her role.

"Something that Denis Villeneuve and the writers have really taken into consideration is (that) this book was written back in the day when women were portrayed differently to what we are expecting nowadays - which we call gender equality. And it''s something that they have taken into consideration making this script.

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To lean more strongly into the feminine power of the #Dune book, director Denis Villeneuve worked with his screenwriters to expand Rebecca Ferguson's role as Lady Jessica into more than just that of an "expensive extra": `Something I deeply love in the book is that there was a strong balance between the masculine power and feminine power.` Read more at the link in our bio.⁠ --⁠ #denisvilleneuve #rebeccaferguson #film

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"Even though (Lady Jessica) is a concubine to the king, she''s also his bodyguard, his mentor, she can read thought and emotion and she''''s the best fighter there is. So there''s a subtle power that she needs to teach her son, (Paul Atreides), played by Timothee Chalamet. It''s a complex story, it''s hard to discuss in one sentence," the actor had said.

"Dune" will also feature Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgard, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa and Javier Bardem.

The movie is scheduled to be released on December 18.