Well, that didn’t take long. After a box-office weekend of $41 million domestically, the highest-opening Warner Bros. film of the year so far, and a global total of $223 million, Legendary Pictures has officially greenlighted Denis Villeneuve‘s “Dune: Part Two.” “This is only the beginning…,” the company wrote on Twitter, announcing the film officially. “Thank you to those who have experienced @dunemovie so far, and those who are going in the days and weeks ahead. We’re excited to continue the journey!”
“Dune: Part Two” is expected to land in theaters —yes, a real and full theatrical release, and not a hybrid HBO Max day and date release— October of 2023, essentially two years after the original. In recent interviews with the “Dune” cast and crew, everyone seemed hopeful but did not wanting to jinx it. “I don’t want to overanalyze it because if it comes back and someone says, ‘Sorry, it didn’t really work out. People didn’t really like the first one.’ Well, then that’s going to be shit, isn’t it?” Rebecca Ferguson told The Playlist in her colorful way.
“I will totally be heartbroken [laughs],” director Denis Villeneuve told us, if “Dune: Part Two” didn’t go forward. “But let’s say that I made sure to bring enough of the images I had in my head. I made sure to protect a part of myself. There’s a part of the desire [to make the film] that has already been put onto the screen right now. So, if ever, there’s no part two, I’ll know that I had the privilege to visit Arrakis at least once. That already has been the biggest privilege of my life. So, we’ll see, but I’m optimistic.”
It looks like their prayers have been answered. “I just received news from Legendary that we are officially moving forward with Dune: Part Two,” Villeneuve said in a statement. “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.”
The first “Dune” starred Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides and told his personal journey of being the heir of the planet Caladan and wrestling with the notion of a prophecy that saw him as the chosen one for the planet Arrakis, and potentially the universe. But it’s only half the story told Frank Herbert’s seminal 1965 sci-fi novel of the same name. The sprawling cast includes several names, but without spoiling much, the key ones you should be looking at, in terms of their return, are Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Zendaya, and Stellan Skarsgard. A few characters from their original novel have yet to appear and yet to be cast, such as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, who Sting played in the 1984 film version by David Lynch.
“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,” said Toby Emmerich, Chairman of Warner Bros Picture Group. “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.”
WIth $220 million in the can already, “Dune” could still possibly walk away with north of $400 million, if this news ushers in new and additional enthusiasm for the project. It’s hard to predict as no Warner Bros, simultaneously released on HBO Max has cracked $100 million domestically yet. The closest figure is very close—”Godzilla vs. Kong” which grossed $99.2 million in North America, earlier this year. Clearly, that’s the figure to beat.