Warner Bros. has officially announced that Dune: Part Two has been delayed until 2024 due to the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Per Variety, Dune: Part Two has been delayed by Warner Bros. Originally, the follow-up to the 2021 science fiction film Dune was supposed to be released on Nov. 3, but has now moved to a release date of March 15, 2024. This move comes as a result of the ongoing actors and writers strike in Hollywood, which has made marketing and press junkets for upcoming films an impossibility. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, another Warner Bros. film, has also been delayed. Instead of its original March 14 date, that film will now release on April 12.
This news comes following month-long rumors that Warner Bros. was considering delaying Dune: Part Two and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. There is still no news of the latter being delayed, however, though that could always change. Dune: Part Two‘s new release date is just over four months later than its original date. Depending on how much longer the strikes continue, this date could conceivably change yet again, though fans will have to wait and see for certain.
Dune: Part Two Is Even More Star-Studded Than First Film
The first Dune had an A-list cast in stars in Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Jason Momoa and Zendaya. Several of those stars are returning for Dune: Part Two, which is adding even more star power to the cast. One of the biggest additions is Austin Butler as the villainous Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. Butler’s performance has been described as “chilling” by co-star Stephen McKinley Henderson. “[Austin] played a character that was not very happy with me at all, and he was quite chilling, and I was giving him back the looks, but when they say, ‘Cut,’ he would come over and say, ‘Mr. Henderson, are you okay? Can I help you? Can I get you anything?'” McKinley said.
Dune: Part Two will continue the story of Chalamet’s Paul Atreides and finish up the second half of the first Dune book. Following the events of the first film, and judging by Dune: Part Two‘s captivating trailer released in June, in Paul will try and get revenge on the antagonists who killed his father while coming to terms with being the chosen one, or Muad’Dib. Both Dune movies are helmed by visionary director Denis Villeneuve, who co-wrote Dune: Part Two alongside Jon Spaihts.
Dune: Part Two will release in theaters on March 15, 2024.
Source: Variety