Regardless of being delayed quite a lot of instances because of the pandemic and a basic pre-release skepticism surrounding it, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune ended up being a popular movie when it dropped in 2021. And even with a similar day launch on then-HBO Max, it ended up making a $402 million in theaters and securing several nominations and wins throughout the awards circuit. So it wasn’t shocking when Warner Bros. gave the green light for a sequel to be made and set for a late 2023 launch.
All the best way again in 2021 when the sequel was first introduced, Warner Bros. staked an October 20, 2023 launch date for Dune: Half Two. However like its predecessor, it couldn’t assist however being delayed: first to November 17, then to November 3, each as WB tried to account for fluctuating releases from different studios, specifically Marvel’s Blade (then primed to launch on November 3) and The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and Trolls 3 (each hitting on November 17). A bit disappointing, however hey, a minimum of we obtained a trailer and poster to make up for it, proper?
Then the Hollywood strikes occurred, and all the pieces obtained thrown out of whack. Unwilling to cede floor to the striking writers and actors, WB and different studios determined to push quite a lot of their late 2023 releases into 2024, Dune included. The sequel is now set to launch in March 2024—a minimum of, at time of writing and assuming one other delay isn’t within the works ought to the actors proceed placing. (In just a few days, the WGA may have reached an agreement with studios a full month in the past.) The movie’s newest trailer was all the best way again in late June, and WB has just about been quiet about it since—lead actor Timothée Chalamet solely just lately opened up concerning the movie, and that was from an interview carried out months earlier than the strikes started.
No matter when it finally ends up popping out, Dune: Half Two will find yourself being an enormous deal, just because it’s an enormous film starring a bunch of scorching ticket actors like Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, and Austin Butler. Nevertheless it’s attention-grabbing to see how delays and circumstances exterior of the management of these engaged on it have ended up being part of the legacy of those new Dune movies. Hopefully it doesn’t proceed to be a pattern if extra of Frank and Brian Herbert’s novels find yourself being tailored for the massive display screen.
Dune: Half Two is at present scheduled to launch solely in theaters on March 15, 2024.
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