I’m an ecologist and I first got into ecology from reading Dune. The Liet Kynes character is so important to me. Dude, it sometimes sucks to be a woman in quantitative ecology. I am in the rough final stretch of my PhD right now. All of my role models and heroes are men because we don’t have a lot of women around. This casting made me feel so good. I would have loved Kynes if it were Paul Bettany or Mahershala Ali. I loved him portrayed by Max Von Sydow. I would have loved any actor with the right vibe. But it’s icing on the cake that it’s a woman. That’s all. It just feels good. I don’t think it messes with the plot or ruins the spirit of Herbert’s writing. But it feels great to me, as an ecologist, to see her looking badass.