Dune 2 is officially a go. After an impressive opening weekend, which saw Denis Villeneuve's Dune releasing both in theaters and on HBO Max, the official social account for Legendary confirmed that the sequel dubbed Dune: Part Two is happening with a first look poster. It's also been announced that the sequel is targeted for an Oct. 20, 2023 release, at which point it will likely be premiering in theaters only.
Denis Villeneuve will return after directing, producing, and co-writing the first Dune. In a statement, the filmmaker said of the sequel news, "I just received news from Legendary that we are officially moving forward with Dune: Part Two. It was a dream of mine to adapt Frank Herbert's Dune and I have the fans, the cast, and crew, Legendary and Warner Bros. to thank for supporting this dream. This is only the beginning."
Toby Emmerich, Chairman, Warner Bros. Picture Group, added: "Denis Villeneuve has crafted a film that is both visually extraordinary and emotionally transporting, as evidenced by its global success both critically and at the box office. We are thrilled to continue on this journey with Denis and his cast and crew, and our partners at Legendary, and can't wait to bring the next chapter of this epic tale to theaters in October 2023."
"Legendary is pleased to officially move forward with Dune: Part Two...once again based on the amazing books written by Frank Herbert," studio Legendary also said. "We would not have gotten to this point without the extraordinary vision of Denis and the amazing work of his talented crew, the writers, our stellar cast, our partners at Warner Bros., and of course the fans! Here's to more Dune."
Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve had developed Dune as the first of a two-part story, so he was always planning on doing a follow-up movie. However, the project had not been officially greenlit, and the powers that be were apparently waiting to see how audiences responded to the sci-fi epic. Fortunately, it overperformed compared to its initial expectations, topping the box office despite its day-and-date release with HBO Max. Better yet, viewers have mostly enjoyed what they've seen in the first Dune. It sits at 84% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with an even higher score at 91% with the audience rating.
Villeneuve co-wrote Dune with Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth, though it is based on the original 1965 novel by Frank Herbert, which also inspired the popular 1984 movie of the same name by David Lynch. This new take features a strong ensemble cast including Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem.
In Dune, "Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence-a commodity capable of unlocking humanity's greatest potential-only those who can conquer their fear will survive."
Dune is currently playing in movie theaters and streaming on HBO Max. Some details of this story come to us from Deadline.