'Dune' Sequel Plan Confirmed By Legendary Pictures

There's a lot of sandy ground to cover with Dune, and one movie might not cut it. Director Denis Villeneuve's star-studded Dune adaptation is currently filming, but will there be more to come? Villeneuve has hinted in the past that he'd like to make more than one film to bring Frank Herbert's sci-fi epic to life, and as of now, that seems to be the plan. In a new interview, Legendary CEO Joshua Grode confirms that at least one Dune sequel is being planned – although that could change.

Frank Herbert's Dune spans 400-plus pages, and tells an epic, world-hopping saga featuring a cavalcade of characters. It's proven notoriously hard to bring to the screen – not even David Lynch could make it work. Now, Denis Villeneuve is attempt to succeed where others failed. And he's not going to try to cram it all into one movie. In a new THR interview, Legendary's Joshua Grode was asked if there would be a Dune sequel. Here's his reply:

"That's the plan. There's a backstory that was hinted at in some of the books [that we expanded]. Also, when you read the book there's a logical place to stop the movie before the book is over."

Villeneuve is currently at work on the first film, but he's not shooting both movies back-to-back. It looks like there's a wait-and-see mentality here – should the first Dune clean up at the box office, Legendary will likely jump into the sequel with both feet. This project may have a great cast, but it's something of a gamble – at least in terms of box office. Villeneuve is a fantastic filmmaker, and his Blade Runner 2049 is wonderful. But it also underperformed at the box office. Hopefully that won't happen with Dune.

To pull this off, Villeneuve has put together a cast that features Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Stephen Henderson, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem. That is one attention-grabbing, good-looking cast. If that line-up can't put butts in seats, maybe nothing can.

Dune (part 1) will open November 20, 2020.

A mythic and emotionally charged hero's journey, "Dune" tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity's greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.