Dune has crossed $300 million at the global box office and Legendary/Warner Bros. has officially announced the second film, Dune: Part Two, is moving ahead with a release date of October 20, 2023.
We now have a better idea when director Denis Villeneuve will get cameras rolling and should have the returning/new cast ready to go to finish the second half of the story.
Josh Encinias apparently attended a Dune Q&A, where it was revealed that they’ll get production on Dune: Part Two started sooner than expected with a potential start of July 18, 2022. Denis Villeneuve had indicated a possible fall start in interviews before the sequel was greenlit and would suggest they’re ahead of schedule if they started over the summer.
Considering we already know most of the cast and crew are returning, the next big step will be announcing the actors for new roles such as The Emperor, Princess Irulan, Paul’s sister Alia Atreides, and Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Villeneuve doubled-down on the idea of making a trilogy and suggests he’s “always envisioned” making three movies. The idea was that he’d adapt Frank Herbert’s second novel, Dune Messiah, for a third movie.
“I always envisioned three movies. It’s not that I want to do a franchise, but this is Dune, and Dune is a huge story. In order to honor it, I think you would need at least three movies. That would be the dream. To follow Paul Atreides and his full arc would be nice.”
“Herbert wrote six books, and the more he was writing, the more it was getting psychedelic. So I don’t know how some of them could be adapted. One thing at a time. If I ever have the chance to do Dune: Part Two and Dune Messiah, I’m blessed.”
I don’t think we’re going to get more than three movies from Villeneuve but he very much could be involved with subsequent series spinoffs like Dune: The Sisterhood and beyond. Having Legendary and HBO Max announcing more Dune shows would be the least surprising thing to happen.
DUNE – A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, Dune tells the story of 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.
THE RONIN 