What, 156 minutes of Dune wasn’t enough for you? You and a whole legion of other fans, who are also patiently waiting for any news of Dune: Part Deux.
The good news is that filming of the sci-fi follow-up is well under way and there won’t be too long to wait. Here’s everything else we know so far about Denis Villeneuve's inter-galactic adventures:
What’s the big idea?
Dune, written in 1965 by Frank Herbert, was such an epic tome that the first film, despite clocking in at almost three hours, only covered roughly the first half of the book (we're referring to Villeneuve's adaptation here, rather than David Lynch much derided 1984 effort). So, the second half of the novel will make up the second film.
The ending of Dune (look away now if you haven’t watched it yet!) saw Paul and Lady Jessica accepted into the Fremen and journey to Stilgar’s home. They are going to have to fight against the Empire in a giant revolt, as the House Atreides has all but fallen.
Strap yourself in though: there could be many, many more Dune films, as Herbert wrote five sequels: Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune.
The first film was met with good reviews – a solid 83 percent score on RottenTomatoes at the time of writing – and grossed $401.8 million dollars at the box office, which isn’t too shabby.
Who’s in the cast for the new film?
Elfin-boi lead Timothée Chalamet will return as Paul Atreides, and Zendaya is having her role as Chani bumped up to a co-lead in the second film, after the characters finally met at the end of the last film.
Other returning stars are Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Javier Bardem as Stilgar, Stellan Skarsgård as the evil Baron Harkonnen and Dave Bautista as the Baron's nephew Glossu Rabban.
Obviously, there will be no returning performances from Oscar Isaac (Duke Leto Atreides), Jason Momoa (Duncan Idaho) or Babs Olusanmokun (Jamis) as (spoiler!) they all die in the first movie, although that doesn’t count out flashbacks. Editor Joe Walker told Collider: “Those who know the book know that Duncan Idaho, for example, reappears, so it's not over until the last lady sings.”
There will also be new, familiar faces in the 2.0 cast: Elvis star Austin Butler will be playing Feyd-Rautha, Florence Pugh will be Princess Irulan, the mighty Christopher Walken will no doubt shine as Emperor Shaddam IV and Léa Seydoux will be jumping into the Lady Margot role.
What has Villenueve said about it?
Speaking to Empire, he said: “Now in the second one, I want to have more flexibility, and it will be possible to go a little bit deeper into some of these details.”
He will introduce new characters like Feyd-Rautha and play around with screen-time in the ever-changing focus of the storylines: “It’s like a chess game. Some new characters will be introduced in the second part and a decision I made very early on was that this first part would be more about Paul Atreides and the Bene Gesserit, and his experience of being in contact for the first time with a different culture. Second part, there will be much more Harkonnen stuff.”
What about the other actors?
In a Q&A session at the Cannes Film Festival, Javier Bardem said: “I've read the new draft and I think they've done an amazing job of putting together the pieces in a way that is gonna surprise people. They won't be surprised, obviously, because they've read the book, but they'll be surprised by the way they put it together. I was very moved by it.”
Is there a Dune 2 trailer?
No, no trailer as yet, but we’ll let you know as soon as it drops.
What is the Dune 2 release date?
The film was originally due for release on October 20, 2023, however this has been pushed back to November 17, 2023, so no need to buy your popcorn just yet.
