Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the universe, he must prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.
Release date: November 3, 2023 (USA)
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Cinematography: Greig Fraser
Costume design: Jacqueline West, Bob Morgan
Distributed by: Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Pictures
Editor: Joe Walker
Dune 2 is taking us back to Arrakis, and we can’t wait. Judging by the first trailer and the all-star cast, the highly-anticipated sequel – officially known as Dune: Part Two – will be one of the biggest movies of the year.
Dune: Part Two, which is based on the second half of the first novel in Frank Herbert’s Dune series of books, finished filming in December 2022 – as confirmed by star Timothée Chalamet in a behind-the-scenes photo.
Warner Bros and Legendary released the trailer for the sequel on May 3, following the release of first looks at newcomers including Florence Pugh and Austin Butler in late April 2023.
The new movie will resolve the huge cliffhanger from the first film – and there is even the possibility that Dune 2 won’t be our final visit to Arrakis, as Villeneuve has hinted he may even consider turning the movies into a trilogy if he goes on to adapt Frank Herbert’s second book in the series, Dune Messiah.
Now that we have the trailer, here’s everything you need to know about Dune: Part Two.
Dune 2 release date: When can we expect to see Dune Part Two?
After a couple of release date changes, Dune: Part Two will now arrive in cinemas on November 3, 2023.
It had been scheduled for October 20, 2023 before being pushed back to November 17, 2023, and then Warner Bros shifted it forward to its current date. Here’s hoping that release date will stick, but changes are always possible.
Unlike the first movie, which was released on HBO’s Max streaming service on the same day that it hit US cinemas, it’s likely that the sequel will have an exclusive theatrical release in the US rather than a day-and-date streaming release.
Filming commenced on the sequel on July 18, 2022 and took place on location in Budapest, Abu Dhabi, Jordan and Italy. As mentioned above, filming wrapped in December 2022 barring any potential reshoots.
Assuming there are no delays in post-production, we’ll all be returning to Arrakis in November 2023 as planned. Fingers crossed.
Dune 2 trailer: Watch the Dune Part Two trailer here!
Dune 2 cast: Who’s coming back for Dune Part Two?
When filming was announced, we were also treated to the official confirmation of those returning for the sequel, as well as the new faces we’ll be seeing.
Timothée Chalamet is back as Paul Atreides and his co-lead in the second movie will be Zendaya’s Chani, who we knew would have a larger role to play in Part Two after Paul finally met her at the end of the first movie.
Rebecca Ferguson is also back as Lady Jessica, Paul’s mother, and it sounds like the character will have a bigger role in the sequel.
Villeneuve revealed to Town & Country: “Lady Jessica kind of disappears in the second part of the book, and I made sure as I was writing the screenplay to do the opposite, to make sure that she will be active, to bring her back to the front of the story.
“I’m looking forward for the world to see what Rebecca [Ferguson] has accomplished. She’s not afraid to go very far away. She’s a force that I can count on,” he said.
Other returning stars include Javier Bardem as Stilgar, Stellan Skarsgård as the villainous Baron Harkonnen and Dave Bautista as the Baron’s nephew Glossu Rabban (aka ‘The Beast’).
Like Zendaya, Bardem is set to have a bigger role in the sequel as he revealed to Vanity Fair that the expanded sequel role was part of Villeneuve’s pitch to him.
“He [Villeneuve] said, ‘I have a small role, if there is such a thing, as the second part of the book the role will be bigger, and I would love you to do it if you want to.’ And I said, ‘Of course, I want to. I don’t care if there’s a second movie or not,” he recalled.
However, don’t go expecting to see Oscar Isaac back as Duke Leto Atreides or Babs Olusanmokun as Jamis, given that they were killed off during the first movie.
Book readers will know that there’s potential for Jason Momoa to return as Duncan Idaho later in the series though, but probably not in the sequel.
The fates of Josh Brolin’s Gurney Halleck and Stephen McKinley Henderson’s Thufir Hawat were left up in the air after House Harkonnen’s attack on Arrakis, but they’ve both been confirmed to return in Part Two.
There will be plenty of new faces among the cast too. It’s already been confirmed that Part Two will see Elvis star Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha, Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, Christopher Walken as Emperor Shaddam IV and Léa Seydoux as Lady Margot.
Chalamet has already been full of praise for Pugh’s performance in the movie, which marks the second time the pair have worked together, saying: “She’s an incredible actor. She was incredible in Dune – seriously incredible. She brought a gravitas to the role.”
An official first look at Pugh in the movie was revealed in late April 2023.
Chalamet obviously also had good words to say about Zendaya and her expanded role in the sequel: “She’s bringing exactly what she brought to the first one – which was incredible – but in greater abundance,” he added.
Souheila Yacoub was announced to be joining the cast in July 2022 and she’ll be playing Fremen warrior Shishakli. We thought that was it, but then Tim Blake Nelson was confirmed in a secret role in January 2023.
Dune 2 plot: What will Dune Part Two be about?
When the sequel was confirmed, we got our first plot synopsis too:
“This follow-up film will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family.
“Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavours to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.”
The first movie covered just over half of Herbert’s book, ending as Paul and Lady Jessica were accepted into the Fremen and on their way to Stilgar’s home.
With House Atreides pretty much decimated, it’s going to be them against the Empire in the sequel, where we’re sure to see more of Paul’s visions of his future coming to life as he leads a revolt against the Empire.
Villeneuve revealed that he had toyed with ending the movie later with the book’s time jump, but realised that his “first intuition” to break after Paul meets the Fremen was the right place to end it.
Thanks to Paul’s prophetic ability, the first movie contained exciting teasers for what’s to come in the character’s future as he contends with his ultimate destiny, one that could be connected to Chani and the Fremen of Arrakis.
Villeneuve teased the sequel would “go a little bit deeper into some of these details,” including the aforementioned Feyd-Rautha. “It’s like a chess game,” he said. “Some new characters will be introduced in the second part.”
Even if you’ve read the book, Javier Bardem has been teasing how the sequel won’t just be a straightforward adaptation, so make sure you don’t consider your speculations as fact just yet.
Bautista has been hyping up the release of the sequel, telling Collider in January 2023 that the movie is “so amped up from the first film. There’s just so much going on, it’s so much more cutthroat and political and intense.”
Costume designer Jacqueline West has also revealed that the sequel will explore the “different worlds of Dune” (via Deadline).
“All the worlds get expanded. It was about creating three separate, different-looking worlds and also revisiting the Bene Gesserits, the age-old ones with these costumes that almost look like Egyptian mummies,” she explained.
“I think it’s visually stunning, the sets, the cinematography and the concepts.”
Dune: Part Two is out in cinemas on November 3.
