Jenna Ortega reveals which Dune role she auditioned for: ‘Everything was very secret’

Actor says she auditioned for role when she was 15

Jenna Ortega suspects she auditioned for Zendaya’s role on Dune when the film was in development about six years ago.

Ortega, 21, says she auditioned for a “very secret” role when she was 15 and was very excited because director Denis Villeneuve is “one of my favourite filmmakers”.

“I think I auditioned forDune when I was about 15,” the actor told Buzzfeed when asked what role people might be surprised to hear she had auditioned for.

“I remember being a big fan of that film and that franchise and everything like that and being really excited for the interview because Denis is one of my favourite filmmakers,” the actor added. “I think it was Chani, I think it was Zendaya’s. But they weren’t saying that, everything was very secret.”

Dune was released in 2021. Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Stellan Skarsgard, Dave Bautista, and Josh Brolin starred along with Zendaya.

Dune: Part Two, released in 2024, drew acclaim from critics, including Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent who awarded the film five stars out of five.

Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet in ‘Dune' (Warner Bros)

Ortega will next be seen in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, starring as Astrid Deetz, daughter of Winona Ryder’s Lydia.

“Winona was so welcoming. I feel really lucky to have been able to create such a bond with her on set,” she said in the same Buzzfeed interview, in which she also spoke about co-stars Michael Keaton and Catherine O’Hara.

“I have been such a fan of Michael Keaton for such a long time that I think actually seeing him in person I went inside myself because I weirdly got shy. Catherine O’Hara is one of, if not the funniest person, I met in my life.”

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice releases in theatres on 4 September after premiering at the Venice Film Festival.