Dune Part Two Greenlit By Legendary

Let the spice flow! Denis Villeneuve's "Dune," an adaptation of the first part of Frank Herbert's groundbreaking sci-fi book, is finally in theaters worldwide (and also on HBO Max in the U.S.). Critics and fans alike are loving the movie, and the film's relative box office success and stronger strong viewership on HBO Max has caused Legendary and Warner Bros. to officially greenlight a "Part Two," which will cover the remaining pages of Herbert's novel.

This is only the beginning...

Thank you to those who have experienced @dunemovie so far, and those who are going in the days and weeks ahead. We're excited to continue the journey! pic.twitter.com/mZj68Hnm0A

— Legendary (@Legendary) October 26, 2021

Warner Bros. has set the sequel for a theatrical release in October 2023, per The Hollywood Reporter. Both director Denis Villeneuve and star Timothée Chalamet are set to return for the highly anticipated follow-up to the sci-fi epic. Villeneuve said in a statement:

"I just received news from Legendary that we are officially moving forward with Dune: Part Two. 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."

The news is no doubt exciting to many a fan, and also undoubtedly for Villeneuve himself, who said in a roundtable discussion /Film took part in that he was ready to get back to the world of Arrakis starting in 2022.

While we don't know the specifics of when the cast and crew will begin working on "Dune: Part Two" in earnest, we do have some idea about what the second movie will cover.

Villeneuve's "Dune" hewed pretty close to Hebert's source material, but there are major events and some major characters that were left out of the film. I won't go into the details in case you want to avoid spoilers (though you can check out a spoiler-full breakdown of what elements we'll like see in "Part Two" here). What I will say, however, is that there is a lot of book left for Villenueve to cover in a second film.

With "Part Two" moving forward, one can't help but wonder whether Villeneuve might want to make more "Dune" movies based on Herbert's other books, some of which veer into really weird territory. Villeneuve has unsurprisingly already thought about that, and shared his hopes in a September roundtable /Film attended:

I envision the adaptation of two books, 'Dune' and 'Dune Messiah.' I said, 'Okay. As a filmmaker, as a screenwriter, I know how to do this.' So we decided to split the first novel in two. So now we have to have three movies. Those movies are very long to make. So for my mental sanity I decided to just dream about three movies, because I'm a big fan of all the novels. After that, I'll see where I am. But I will say that I want to focus on the aspect of these three movies right now.

With "Part Two" confirmed, I really hope Legendary and Warner Bros. decides to greenlight a third film as well so Villeneuve can complete his vision. "Dune" fans are here for it, and can't wait to see more of Arrakis, especially the sandworms and spice.

"Dune: Part One" is currently in theaters and available on HBO Max.