'Dune' Will Premiere At The Venice Film Festival – Like Spice, The Early Buzz Must Flow
The sleeper has awakened, and he's headed to the Venice Film Festival. Denis Villeneuve's star-studded adaptation of Frank Herbert's sprawling sci-fi epic Dune is officially headed to the Venice Film Festival in September. Rumors have been swirling like a sandstorm that the film might premiere at the festival, and now it's confirmed. Dune will be an out-of-competition entry in the fest, which means it can't win awards, but it can generate plenty of buzz.
Ah, Venice
The Venice Film Festival has confirmed that Denis Villeneuve's Dune will premiere at the festival out-of-competition. Not much else is confirmed just yet, but it's probably safe to assume that Warner Bros. will have some stars from the film at the fest.
And there are plenty of stars to choose from. The Dune cast includes (deep breath): Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides; Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica; Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides; Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck; Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen; Dave Bautista as Glossu Rabban; Stephen McKinley Henderson as Thufir Hawat; Zendaya as Chani; David Dastmalchian as Piter De Vries; Chang Chen as Dr. Wellington Yueh; Sharon Duncan-Brewster as Dr. Liet-Kynes; Charlotte Rampling as Gaius Helen Mohiam; Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho; and Javier Bardem as Stilgar.
Venice runs from September 1 through 11, and will be completely in-person, something most film festivals weren't able to do last year. So far, the only other film confirmed to play the fest is The Power of the Dog from director Jane Campion, but you can expect more announcements soon.
Dune will screen on Friday, September 3, 2021 in the Sala Grande at the Palazzo del Cinema on the Lido di Venezia.
What's This Dune Movie About, Anyway?
Dune is described as "a mythic and emotionally charged hero's journey" that "tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity's greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive."
There's already a lot of hype around Dune, which was originally supposed to open last November. It eventually got pushed to December 2020 before being pushed yet again into 2021. Now it's set to open in theaters and on HBO Max on October 1, 2021.