'Dune' Might Be Saved From HBO Max Fate After All With Rumored Deal Between Legendary & WarnerMedia

When the news that HBO Max was going to be the day-and-date home for all of Warner Bros.’ major 2021 releases, including the highly-anticipated “Dune,” the industry was shaken. And it didn’t take long at all for Legendary, the co-financiers and co-producers of “Dune,” to come forward with a legal challenge. Well, it appears that maybe those legal maneuvers might pay dividends.

READ MORE: Denis Villeneuve Rebukes WB/HBO Max Decision & Says Studio “Might Have Just Killed The ‘Dune’ Franchise”

According to Deadline, it appears that a resolution to the disagreements between Legendary and WarnerMedia might end with some interesting changes to the release strategy of “Dune.” The report claims, “Rumors have the solution to that breach being to preserve ‘Dune’ as a traditional theatrical to preserve its franchise potential and since its October 1 release date falls well after the estimated late spring date when Covid vaccines should achieve herd immunity.”

Obviously, this is something that would please Legendary, as well as director Denis Villeneuve. He recently wrote an op/ed where he said that the decision to release “Dune” on HBO Max the same day as theaters effectively killed the franchise potential of the film. He also had some other, not-so-kind things to say about the decision.

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2021

Of course, if that happens, as Deadline points out, “Dune” would almost assuredly wait until the vaccine has created a more theater-friendly environment that could support a blockbuster feature. That should be in October, but then again, when has anything in this pandemic happened when it should? So, keep your eyes peeled for news there.

As for the other Legendary film that was at the center of this controversy, “Godzilla vs. Kong,” it appears that the HBO Max strategy might still hold, but WarnerMedia is working with the studio on a deal that would be more akin to the original idea that Legendary had of selling the rights to Netflix for roughly $250 million. So, we’ll have to see what happens.

As of now, both “Dune” and ‘Godzilla’ are set for HBO Max and theatrical debuts day-and-date in 2021.