If you left Dune wanting more, you’re in luck: Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures confirmed on Oct. 26 that there would indeed be a Dune: Part Two, and that it would be released in October, 2023.
Dune only covered the first half of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic, as director Denis Villeneuve chose to split the novel into two movies early on. However, the second film was unconfirmed up until now, contingent on the first film’s success. Dune raked in $40.1 million over its opening weekend in the United States after premiering in theaters and on HBO Max, and it grossed over $220 million worldwide.
The confirmation of Dune: Part Two is great news for Dune fans everywhere. Herbert’s work had gained a reputation for being unfilmable: Alejandro Jodorowsky was unable to complete his version of Dune, while David Lynch’s 1984 film was a critical and commercial disaster. Luckily, Villeneuve’s version is a stunning and engrossing film that avoids the pitfalls of its predecessor. If he can stick the landing on Dune: Part Two, he’ll have pulled off the impossible: creating the definitive adaptation of Dune. The good news is, he’s already halfway there.
So, what can we expect from Dune: Part Two?
A lot more weirdness. Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) will continue his journey to becoming the messianic figure known as the Kwisatz Haderach, and the Harkonnens will continue their assault on the Fremen and on Arrakis’ natural resources.
We’ll also get to see more of characters like Chani (Zendaya) and Stilgar (Javier Bardem). And although nothing has been confirmed yet, there’s a large chance we’ll be meeting the Emperor and Princess Irulan in Dune: Part Two as well. Personally, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen will make an appearance, but we’ll just have to wait until 2023 to find out.
