Oscar-nominated Dune director Denis Villeneuve is apparently looking at Academy Award-nominated Little Women star-turned-Marvel movie heroine Florence Pugh for the sci-fi epic’s sequel. 

According to Variety, Pugh could play Princess Irulan Corrino, a royal character from Frank Herbert‘s seminal science-fiction novel who forms a relationship with young leader Paul Atreides, who was played by Timothée Chalamet in Villeneuve’s version.

Pugh was recently seen in the Marvel Studios small-screen series Hawkeye, reprising her Black Widow role of assassin Yelena, the adoptive sister of Scarlett Johansson‘s Natasha Romanoff. 

Dune: Part 2, which will star original cast members Chalamet, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, Stellan Skarsgård, Javier Bardem, Dave Bautista and Zendaya, is slated for an October 2023 release. 

Dune earned more than $400 million worldwide, and has been nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.