Adapting Dune was never going to be an easy task for director Deni Villneuve.
In order to do justice to Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic the filmmaker was adamant that
the story would have to be split across 2 films.
Legendary and Warner Bros agreed but they thought it best to see the public’s response
first before green lighting production on the sequel.
Due to the global health crises that would cripple the exhibition industry the prospect
of a sequel was never a sure thing.
After several delays and one of the most unusual release strategies to date it is now official
that Dune Part 2 is happening.
The first film surpassed expectations despite the gradual release overseas and the simultaneous
domestic premiere in theaters and on HBO Max streaming the film has garnered/accumulated
just over 223 million at the global box office so far along with strong viewership on HBO
Max.
The response to Deni Villneuve’s film has been mostly positive by both critics and audiences
with the majority of viewers eager for more.
And yet it is still only the beginning as there are still some markets where Dune has
yet to be released theatrically and the film itself has strong rewatchability.
There is no denying that Dune Part One has been a critical and commercial success.
It would have made no sense if part 2 wasn’t given the greenlight.
Well Dune fans and general audiences alike can breathe a sigh of relief that the story
of Dune will have its conclusion.
On October 26, In an article by Deadline it was confirmed that the sequel is planned for
an exclusive theatrical release in October of 2023 as stated by Toby Emmerich, Chairman
of the Warner Bros Picture Group who said quote:
“Denis Villeneuve has crafted a film that is both visually extraordinary and emotionally
transporting, as evidenced by its global success both critically and at the box office,“We
are thrilled to continue on this journey with Denis and his cast and crew, and our partners
at Legendary, and can’t wait to bring the next chapter of this epic tale to theaters
in October 2023.”
The sequel will see a continuation of the collaboration with Legendary Pictures, who
will be covering 80% of the sequel’s production costs with Warner Bros covering the rest and
handling the distribution.
Legendary issued their own announcement saying quote: Legendary is pleased to officially
move forward with Dune: Part Two … once again based on the amazing books written by
Frank Herbert,” said Legendary.
“We would not have gotten to this point without the extraordinary vision of Denis
and the amazing work of his talented crew, the writers, our stellar cast, our partners
at Warner Bros., and of course the fans!
Here’s to more Dune.”
Deni Villneuve also released a statement in reaction to this exciting news saying quote:
I just received news from Legendary that we are officially moving forward with Dune: Part
Two,” the filmmaker said.
“It was a dream of mine to adapt Frank Herbert’s Dune, and I have the fans, the cast, and crew,
Legendary and Warner Bros. to thank for supporting this dream.
This is only the beginning.”
I am so glad that Villneuve will be able to finish what he started.
I am also hoping that some of the elements that weren’t expounded on much in the first
film will be featured more in the sequel.
This is something that the director commented on in a recent interview with Twitter movies.
He noted that the very reason he preferred a 2 film adaptation was that there were so
many elements that he loved that he wanted to bring to the screen but there were some
of them that he decided to keep for the second part.
He specifically referenced the Mentat world which many fans including myself were surprised
by the lack of explanation regarding their various functions in the first film.
The director confirmed that this particular aspect of this universe will be explored more
in the second part if such a thing happens.
Now that this is confirmed I’m curious as to what else Villneuve intends to explore
further in the sequel.
It certainly will be a very dynamic action packed yet cerebral film and I’m so excited
to see how this amazing cast and crew tackles part 2 of this epic tale.
Now without the uncertainty looming over the director of whether he will be able to finish
his dream project or not I’m even more excited to see his vision for part 2.
He has previously stated in an interview with Screenrant that the sequel will be an opportunity
to have much more fun and in a way it will be more cinematic.
But I’m curious to know what you think about this announcement.
What would you like to see more of in Dune Part 2?
Are there any particular scenes from the book that you’re especially looking forward to?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
I hope you enjoyed this video.
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Thank you all so much for your support and as always have a very nerdy day.