Warner Bros. and Legendary have announced that Dune: Part Two will continue Dune's story (and, presumably adapt the rest of Dune's original novel) as a sequel.
Deadline reports that the sequel will hit theaters October 2023. Denis Villeneuve, director of Part Two, is returning to direct. The core cast including Timothe Chalamet and Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson and Stellan Skrd, Dave Bautista and Javier Bardem will likely return to reprise their roles, but there is no word yet on casting.
Related Dune elevates its epic story to an epic franchise
It was almost certain that Dune would get a sequel: The film begins with a Dune: Part One titlecard and abruptly ends as Paul joins forces to fight the nomadic Freman warriors. (Coincidentally this is also the rough midpoint in the book Dune).
This is just the beginning.
We are grateful to everyone who has experienced @dunemovie thus far and all who will be experiencing it in the coming days and weeks. We are excited to continue this journey! pic.twitter.com/mZj68Hnm0A Legendary (@Legendary) October 26, 2021
Dune premiered simultaneously on HBO Max and in theaters. However, audiences shouldn't expect the sequel. Warner Bros. already stated that future Warner Bros. films would be opening in theaters. A massive sci-fi blockbuster such as Dune 2 is not an exception.
Warner Bros. has not been shy about its franchise ambitions for Dune: The studio already announced plans to create an HBO Max prequel series called Dune: The Sisterhood. This will be about the powerful Bene Gesserit, a group of women who control galactic politics and have mysterious powers. Although there is no information on a release date or basic casting details, Diane Ademu John was hired recently as a writer, showrunner and executive producer earlier in 2021.
Fans will need to wait until the second half of the book is shown on the big screen. Dune: Part Two (or whatever it ends up being called) hasn't begun filming yet and won't be available in theaters until October 2023.
