Visionary director Denis Villeneuve pulled off the seemingly impossible in 2021, adapting the sprawling sci-fi novel Dune into a critically acclaimed feature film that earned $400 million worldwide. While that gross may not seem impressive for a film the size of Dune, it was released at a time when the pandemic was still causing many theaters to be closed, and the film was also immediately available to stream on HBO Max. Given those factors, Warner Bros. deemed Dune successful enough to greenlight a sequel, which is currently in development.

Dune: Part Two was originally set to be released on Oct. 20, 2023, but its premiere is receiving a slight delay as studios figure out their 2023 movie schedules. Warner Bros. is pushing Dune: Part Two to Nov. 17, 2023, the weekend before the Thanksgiving holiday. As of now, the Dune sequel will release on the same day as the Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, along with the animated family film Trolls 3.

Dune had two previous adaptations before Villeneuve took a crack at the story, one of which was helmed by David Lynch in 1984. Lynch’s version was critically panned and drastically underperformed at the box office, earning $30 million on an estimated production budget of around $40 million. A three-part Dune miniseries was also produced for the Syfy channel back in 2000, and while it won a pair of Emmys, it failed to capture the grand scale of Frank Herbert’s original tale.

It took a director the caliber of Villeneuve to unlock the big-screen potential of Dune, which resulted in 10 Academy Award nominations earlier this year. Dune ended up winning the most Oscars of any film at the 94th Academy Awards, taking home six trophies in such categories as Best Visual Effects, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, and Best Production Design. The film lost out on the Best Picture race to CODA, but it’s safe to assume the sequel will have a good shot at taking home the headline Academy Award in 2024.

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Dune: Part Two Will Continue to Build Out the World of Arrakis

Besides the stunning visuals and top-tier special effects, one of the most impressive parts of Dune was the cast that was assembled by Villeneuve. Between Timothee Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Zendaya, Javier Bardem, and Jason Momoa, some of the biggest actors in Hollywood took a chance on joining the world of Arrakis. Many of those same actors will be coming back for Dune: Part Two, along with a handful of exciting new names who will be boarding the franchise. Christopher Walken, Florence Pugh, Lea Seydoux, and Austin Butler have all reportedly been added to the Dune sequel, with plenty more casting announcements to come over the next year. Villeneuve is clearly upping the ante for Dune: Part Two, which may be why the film was given a few extra weeks of post-production before being released.


Dune: Part Two is set to begin principal photography this fall, and it’s safe to assume a trailer for the film won’t be put out until next summer. Given that it will be released exclusively in theaters unlike its predecessor, Dune: Part Two should be one of the biggest films of 2023 based on the momentum the first film was able to create. Hopefully, no further delays will be necessary, and audiences will be able to return to Arrakis next November.