Director Denis Villeneuve has an important update for us all. After Dune hit the theatres in October 2021, fans have been anticipating the second movie. The first movie was not only received extremely well by the fans of the novel but also newcomers in the Dune universe and critics alike. This movie follows the first half of the first book in Dune saga by Frank Herbert, and managed to motivate the newcomers to start reading the said saga. It also restored the audience’s faith in Timothee Chalamet.
Villeneuve recently spoke to Collider regarding Dune 2 and revealed that the script is “mostly” complete and they will start shooting soon. But like any other film project, it will continue to be tweaked and refined right up until the last minute As he did in the first installment of Dune in 2021, Villeneuve plans to go all out in the sequel.
“The screenplay is finished mostly, but it’s always a work in progress,” Villeneuve added about the sequel. “It’ll be a work in progress until final cut, but I will say it’s solidified. I have a script in my hands. We are in prep right now. My crew, we are in full prep for the movie”, he said.
Fans were also hoping that Villeneuve and cinematographer Greig Fraser will use IMAX cameras to a greater degree in Dune: Part 2. According to the statement by the director himself, it seems like we might just get exactly what we want, “Greig Fraser and I, we fell in love with this format, and definitely, there will be — even probably more — Imax footage in this movie”.
According to Empire, the director also said- “We are supposed to shoot by the end of the summer. I will say it is mostly designed”.
Since the first movie left us on somewhat of a cliffhanger, the audience has been patiently(or not so patiently) waiting for the second part. Dune grossed over $400 million at the box office and with Dune 2 set to release in October next year, we are excited to see how well it does and whether it will still be able to maintain engaging pacing (we trust Director Villeneuve to do justice to the movie and honor the novel the right way).
In spite of Dune being originally slated to be a two-parter, it looks more and more likely that we will now see a Dune 3, in some form or another, with Warner Bros eager to continue exploring the Dune world. Additionally, the Duniverse is set to expand into the small screen world. Jon Spaihts, who is also writing Dune 2 with Villeneuve, said that the spin-off HBO Max series Dune: The Sisterhood is “alive and well.”
Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya are confirmed to reprise their roles in the second installment. Dune is now available to stream on HBO Max.
