‘Dune: Part 2’ Release Date Postponed For Now
Dune: Part 2 will not hit theatres quite as soon as previously planned, according to a statement released today by Warner Bros. Sci-fi epic was set to premiere on October 20 of next year. The new release date for the sequel is November 17, 2023, approximately a month later than originally planned. Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), having evaded a coup and an assassination attempt, will continue his odyssey in the next blockbuster.
It is understandable that fans would be disappointed by a one-month delay in the release date, but it should not be taken personally when you realise the difficulty of finishing such a large sci-fi epic. The new release date pits Dune: Part 2 against another highly anticipated film. Another film with a huge star cast, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, opens on the same day.
The revelation comes on the heels of the announcement that French star Léa Seydoux (No Time to Die) has joined the cast of the movie, and she is part of a lineup of interesting newcomers which includes Florence Pugh (Black Widow), Christopher Walken (Catch Me if You Can), and Austin Butler (Elvis) (Elvis). Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgaard, and Josh Brolin are also likely to reprise their roles from the first film.
Warner Bros. seems unfazed by the competition, having made over $400 million from the first film in the Dune trilogy despite its release coinciding with the height of the coronavirus outbreak. Known for his work on Blade Runner 2049, director Denis Villeneuve is back at the helm with a script he co-wrote with Jon Spaiths (Prometheus).
Dune is based on the best-selling and iconic sci-fi novel by author Frank Herbert. The narrative has already been translated to cinema in a 1984 cult favourite directed by David Lynch and starring Kyle MacLachlan. The updated version, which released in 2021, was a major smash that also took over the Academy Awards: It won in six categories out of 10 nominations, including Best Visual Effects.
Director Johan Renck (Chernobyl) has been hired to helm the pilot and second episode of HBO Max’s Dune prequel series, The Sisterhood. Taking place 10,000 years before the events of the two movies, the series will extend the Dune world. The Bene Gesserit, the ladies of whom are known to possess extraordinary magical abilities, are the titular sisterhood. Currently, we have no information on the series’ expected premiere.