“Dune: Part Two” Will Arrive Two Weeks Early in November 2023

There’s a lot of movement in next year’s movie slate. The bright news comes from Warner Bros, with the studio revealing that Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two will now open on November 3, 2023, rather than its original release date of November 17, 2023. The move comes on the heels of Marvel Studios announcing that Blade, starring Mahershala Ali, will now be pushed back from its November 3, 2023, release as the studio searches for a new director.

Dune: Part Two is going to be one of next year’s most hotly-anticipated films, coming so soon off the heels of Villeneuve’s magisterial Dune, which bowed on October 21, 2021, and became a critical and commercial hit for Warner Bros. The sequel will tackle the second half of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel “Dune,” which Villeneuve and his co-writer Jon Spaihts so eloquently halved in their Oscar-nominated screenplay for the first film. Part Two will find Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) strengthening his ties with the Fremen, led by Stilgar (Javier Bardem) as he attempts to free the planet of Arrakis from the oppressive, murderous House Harkonnen.

The returning stars of the original film joining Chalamet and Bardem are Zendaya as Chani, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica Atreides, Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck, Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, and Dave Bautista as Glossu Rabban Harkonnen.

The new members of the cast include Christopher Walken as Emperor Shaddam IV, the man who originally set up the Atreides family to be ambushed on Arrakis, Florence Pugh as his daughter, Princess Irulan Corrino, Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, the nephew of Stellan Skarsgård’s Baron Harkonnen, and Léa Seydoux as Lady Margot.

Villeneuve’s made a big bet on himself, his cast, and his crew with his original Dune, designing it as only half of the story before he was guaranteed a second film. Heck, he even put Part One at the very start of his movie. That bet paid off, with Dune winning six Oscars, with the movie moving briskly and confidently without trying to capture everything Herbert put into his iconic, long novel. Part Two will finish the saga and arguably offers some of the book’s most breathtaking, thrilling sequences. Warner Bros. made a wise decision.

For more on Dune and Dune: Part Two, check out these stories:

Léa Seydoux Will Play Lady Margot in “Dune: Part Two”

Christopher Walken Will Play the Emperor in “Dune 2”

Oscar-Nominated “Dune” Screenwriter Jon Spaihts on Decoding Frank Herbert’s Tome

Featured image: Caption: Escape from a sandworm in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ action adventure “DUNE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary release. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures