Dune 2 is officially happening after Legendary Entertainment confirmed the exciting news shortly after the first movie’s strong US opening.
“This is only the beginning…,” they tweeted on October 26. “Thank you to those who have experience Dune so far, and those who are going in the days and weeks ahead. We’re excited to continue the journey!”
Needless to say, Dune fans have been desperate for these news ever as Dune: Part One leaves things tantalisingly poised for the sequel. Denis Villeneuve’s movie tells roughly half of Frank Herbert’s seminal novel and there’s plenty more to come.
“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,” said Villeneuve of the sequel news.
Villeneuve has even previously spoken about his potential plans for a trilogy with the third movie adapting Herbert’s sequel Dune Messiah for the screen. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves just now, even though the first movie has proven a hit.
So as we wait to return to Arrakis, here’s everything you need to know about Dune: Part Two. And be warned, spoilers for Dune are ahead.
Dune 2 release date: When can we expect to see Dune Part Two?
Not only do we know that Dune: Part Two is happening, we even have an official release date: October 20, 2023.
Unlike the first movie which was released on HBO Max on the same day that it hit US cinemas, it’s expected that the sequel will receive an exclusive theatrical release in the US with no day-and-date streaming release.
Speaking in September 2021 ahead of the release of the first movie,Villeneuve revealed that he is ready to go very soon. “To go quickly in a movie of that size, you still need to make sets, costumes, so we are talking about months,” he explained.
“But if ever there’s enthusiasm and the movie is greenlit sooner than later, I will say that I will be ready to shoot in 2022 for sure. I am ready to go, and I will say that I would love to bring it to the screen as soon as possible.”
In August 2021, Villeneuve confirmed to Total Film that he’d already started writing the sequel. With the 2023 release date locked, we imagine that filming would have to start at some point in 2022.
The first movie filmed between March-July 2019 ahead of its original release of November 2020. However, as we’ve come to know in the past year or so, release dates can be altered due to events out of the filmmaker’s control.
As Villeneuve said to Nerdist, he won’t be rushed: “[With] the first film, I really had time to make sure that it was exactly the way I wanted it to be. And I would love to have the same feeling when I make the second part.”
We’re happy to wait for the best version of Dune: Part Two, but here’s hoping we do actually return to Arrakis in October 2023.
Dune 2 cast: Who’s coming back for Dune Part Two?
This is your last chance to avoid spoilers for Dune: Part One, so look away now if you haven’t seen the first movie yet.
While we’re still awaiting for official confirmation of the cast, the sequel would bring back Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides and his potential co-lead in the second movie will be Zendaya’s Chani.
Villeneuve has said that Zendaya will have a larger role to play in Part Two and given that Paul had finally met Chani at the end of the first movie, it won’t be a surprise to see their relationship as central to the sequel.
Other returns will include Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Javier Bardem as Stilgar, Stellan Skarsgård as the villainous Baron Harkonnen and Dave Bautista as the Baron’s nephew Glossu Rabban.
However, don’t go expecting to see Oscar Isaac back as Duke Leto Atreides, Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho and Babs Olusanmokun as Jamis, given that they were all killed off during events of the first movie.
Book readers will know that there’s potential for Momoa to return as Duncan Idaho later in the series though, so who knows, maybe Villeneuve will find a way to fit that particular plot into the sequel.
The fates of Josh Brolin’s Gurney Halleck and Stephen McKinley Henderson’s Thufir Hawat were left up in the air after House Harkonnen’s attack on Arrakis. Again, book readers will know what happened to them, but we’ll avoid spoilers for events to come for now.
There will be some new faces among the cast too as we’ll be meeting the Baron’s other nephew, Feyd-Rautha (played by Sting in the 1984 movie), and the Emperor himself should come into play.
It sounds like Villeneuve won’t have any trouble getting the original cast back as Chalamet said “hell yeah” when Digital Spy asked him if he was up for returning, while Ferguson joked she’d drop everything to do it.
The likes of Chalamet and Bautista have already been sharing their excitement for the sequel on Twitter, so we reckon that’s as good of a confirmation as any that the original cast will be back.
Dune 2 plot: What will Dune Part Two be about?
The first movie covered just over half of Herbert’s book, ending as Paul and Lady Jessica were accepted into the Fremen and on their way to Stilgar’s home.
With House Atreides pretty much decimated, it’s going to be them against the Empire in the sequel, where we’re sure to see more of Paul’s visions of his future leading a revolt against the Empire come to life.
Assuming Villeneuve closely follows the book as he did in the first movie, expect to see a time jump, some new children enter the world and major reveals that would be cruel for us to spoil here if you haven’t read the book.
As we mentioned in our review, this first half had to do the heavy lifting in terms of the world-building. For Villeneuve, that groundwork was the “tough task” for the first movie, but now that it’s done, Part Two becomes “an insane playground”.
“It will allow me to go berserk and really create… I should not say that, but I will say that, for me, Dune: Part One is like an appetizer and Dune: Part Two is the main meal,” he told Nerdist ahead of the world premiere.
“As much as Dune: Part One was by far my most exciting project ever, Dune: Part Two is already getting me more, even more excited. That’s all I will say.”
Thanks to Paul’s prophetic ability, the first movie contained exciting teasers for what’s to come in the character’s future as he contends with his ultimate destiny, one that could be connected to Chani and the Fremen of Arrakis.
Herbert wrote five sequels to the original Dune novel so this might not be the end, with Villeneuve already looking at potentially bringing Dune Messiah to the screen as well. He’s not getting too far ahead of himself yet though.
“I’m not dreaming about Dune Messiah right now,” he told Nerdist. “I’m focusing on launching Dune: Part One, hoping that will be a Part Two.”
Dune 2 trailer: Any Dune Part Two footage yet?
Probably won’t be a surprise to know there’s no Dune: Part Two footage yet as it hasn’t started filming. Sorry about that.