Dune Part One has finally arrived in theaters and on HBO Max, but the first half’s cliffhanger ending already has fans eager for the sequel. The only problem is that they haven’t started making it yet, and we don’t even know for sure if they will.
Even though we don’t know much, we can put together a few things from hints that suggest that a sequel is probably on the way.
Will there be a Dune 2?
There will probably be a Dune Part Two, at least based on what has been said in public so far. Director Denis Villeneuve has said in the past that he was optimistic about the prospects of a sequel. Meanwhile, when WarnerMedia’s Ann Sarnoff was asked by Deadline about Part Two she said “will we have a sequel to Dune? If you watch the movie you see how it ends. I think you pretty much know the answer to that.”
Another sign that a sequel is likely on the way is the movie’s performance. The tentpole made $40 million in its opening weekend in the U.S., putting it ahead of every other Warner Bros. movie released so far this year. That’s on top of the more than $200 million the film’s made at the international box office.
When will Dune 2 be released?
There’s no way to know for sure, but we can get some clues from the first movie’s production schedule. Dune was announced in 2017 and filming began in March 2019. The film was originally supposed to be released in Oct. 2020, which means that there were nearly 20 months between the beginning of the movie’s shoot and its release date.
Based on this timeline, if production got started next year, the likely wouldn’t be released until late 2023 or early 2024 at the earliest. Of course, it’s possible that production could be quicker this time around, but there’s no way to be sure until we hear an official release date from Warner Bros.
Will Denis Villeneuve and the rest of the cast be back for Dune Part Two?
That seems to be the plan. Of course, because Part Two hasn’t started filming yet, it will likely have to work around the schedules of its huge cast. Director Denis Villeneuve has expressed his excitement about continuing the story of Dune, and possibly even adapting the stories of the other books in the series in the future.
What will the story for Dune Part 2 be?
We have a whole post that gives away quite a few spoilers about the back-half of Dune if you’re looking for a more detailed answer. But, if you want to save the surprises for the movie, then the short version is that the Dune Part Two will cover the second half of Frank Herbert’s original novel.