Jenna Ortega reveals the iconic role she auditioned for when the 21-year-old actress was just 15 years old

While promoting her highly-anticipated film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Jenna Ortega is opening up about an iconic role she didn't get. 

The 21-year-old actress - who plays Astrid Deetz, the daughter of Winona Ryder's Lydia Deetz in the sequel - was doing a puppy interview with BuzzFeed Celeb.

She was asked what role fans would be surprised to learn she auditioned for, Ortega revealed she auditioned for Zendaya's Chani role in Denis Villeneuve's Dune movies.

'I think I auditioned for Dune when I was about 15,' the actress revealed, though she added the audition process was quite secretive.

'I remember just being a big fan of that film and the franchise and everything like that and being really excited for that interview because Denis is one of my favorite filmmakers,' she added.

When asked what role she believes she auditioned for, Ortega said, 'I think it was Chani, I think it was Zendaya’s, but they weren’t saying that, everything was very secret.'

Villeneuve signed on to direct both Dune movies back in January 2017, though he had to finish Blade Runner 2049 first before delving into the adaptation of Frank Herbert's epic 1965 novel.

He revealed in 2018 that the adaptation would span two films, and that year was also when Timothee Chalamet signed on to play the lead character Paul Atreides.

While it isn't known exactly when auditions were held for the Chani role that Zendaya would ultimately win, Ortega would have been 15 if she auditioned before September 2018.

Zendaya was announced as Chani back in January 2019, and although she would only be seen briefly in 2021's Dune, she would have a pivotal role in the 2024 sequel Dune: Part Two. 

2021's Dune earned $108.8 million domestic and $407.5 million worldwide from a $165 million budget, strong numbers especially considering it debuted streaming simultaneously on Max.

The 2024 sequel Dune: Part Two took in $282.1 million domestic and $711.8 million worldwide from a $190 million budget earlier this year.

The year Ortega - who got her start on the Disney Channel sitcom Stuck in the Middle - started breaking out of her child performer persona like You and The Babysitter: The Killer Queen.

She had her mainstream breakthrough in 2022 with the hit movie Scream and her immensely popular Netflix series Wednesday.

Ortega has starred in two movies already this year - Miller's Girl with Martin Freeman and Winter Spring Summer or Fall, which hits theaters September 5. 

Her film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will hit theaters the next day on September 6, and she has Taika Waititi's Klara and the Sun arriving in 2025.

She also has the second season of Wednesday coming in 2025, which started production back in May.