Dune 2 Will Let The Spice Flow In Theaters A Bit Earlier Than We Thought
Rejoice, moviegoers and sci-fi fans! "Dune: Part Two" just moved up its release date according to The Hollywood Reporter. The blockbuster sequel to 2021's "Dune" is only moving by a smidge compared to the considerable release calendar move the movie already made, but this news still means fans of the franchise will finally get to see the movie 2 weeks earlier than anticipated. "Dune: Part Two" was most recently set for a March 15, 2024 release date, but now it'll be hitting theaters on March 1, 2024 instead.
The movie has been reshuffled several times before: it was initially set for an October 2023 release, but was pushed back a month before being pushed forward two weeks for an early November 2023 date. The musical chairs continued this August, when the movie was pushed back four months. This decision was prompted by the then-ongoing Hollywood strikes, which meant that stars like Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya wouldn't be available to walk the red carpet or do any promotion ahead of release. Now that both SAG-AFTRA and the WGA have gotten deals, the movie is once more free to move around the release schedule.
Stay put, Dune 2!
Hopefully, this March release date will be the last change for the calendar-traveling movie. The impetus for this most recent switch-up, according to THR, is likely that the Ryan Gosling and Emma Blunt-led action rom-com "The Fall Guy" just moved from that March 1 spot to a May date, opening up that weekend for another big release. Given how much thought the studio powers-that-be are clearly putting into finding the right time for "Dune: Part Two," it's clear the big-budget sci-fi spectacle is an investment that Warner Bros. is hoping will pay off. Its predecessor certainly did: the first "Dune" movie made over $400 million at the box office against a reported $160 million budget.
Director Denis Villeneuve's "Dune: Part Two" will conclude the story of Frank Herbert's epic, seemingly unfilmable doorstop of a sci-fi novel. Timothée Chalamet will return as special chosen mama's boy Paul Atreides, while Austin Butler will join as villainous Feyd-Rautha (the character embodied by Sting in David Lynch's version of the film) and Florence Pugh will play Princess Irulan. Christopher Walken, Tim Blake Nelson, and Léa Seydoux are all reportedly joining the cast for round two as well.
Barring any more last-minute changes, "Dune: Part Two" will hit theaters March 1, 2024.