Zendaya Sets Best Actress Oscar Campaign for Dune: Part 3

Zendaya will reportedly campaign in the Best Actress category for her role as Chani in Dune: Part III in the upcoming Oscars race.

“The move marks a shift from the first two films, where she was positioned in supporting actress,” said Variety. “The decision reflects Chani’s expanded role in the story.”

This larger, different role for Zendaya’s character in Dune: Part III has not gone unnoticed. IGN’s Jesse Schedeen recently wrote that “everything we’ve seen of Dune: Part Three so far suggests Chani is playing a vastly different role compared to the source material [Frank Herbert’s book Dune Messiah]. Her status quo is completely different. She isn’t Paul’s faithful concubine, pining for the day she can proudly bear his children. She’s rejected Paul and everything he stands for, preferring instead to live as a true Fremen, totally free and a servant to no one.”

It should be noted that none of the actors in either of the past two Dune …