So Is ‘Dune Part 2’ Really Happening, Or...?

By Emma Baty
25 October, 2021
So Is ‘Dune Part 2’ Really Happening, Or...?

After what felt like a million different (very justified) COVID-related delays, Dune, the sci-fi epic starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, and a whole list of other celebs you love, is finally here. And the biggest twist of the whole movie is that it's... not the whole movie. It's just Part 1. At least, that's what it says in the opening credits. Which begs the question: Are we getting Dune Part 2? And if so, when? Here's everything we know so far.

The director always envisioned Dune as a two-part movie.

It might seem like a bit of a rip-off to walk into a movie and not get the full story, but that was basically always the plan with this particular film. Denis Villeneuve, who directed Dune, always wanted to break the book it's based on into two parts when adapting it.

“I would not agree to make this adaptation of the book with one single movie,” Villeneuve told Vanity Fair in a first look at the movie way back in 2020. “The world is too complex. It’s a world that takes its power in details.”

But the second part has not been confirmed yet.

Unfortunately, though, they didn't shoot both of the movies at one time, and with the way COVID-19 has impact the movie industry, it's not a totally for-sure thing that the second movie will happen.

Ann Sarnoff, chair and CEO of WarnerMedia Studio and Networks Group, which is the studio behind Dune, told Variety how they'll determine whether or not the sequel will happen.

“The story in itself sets up for a sequel. The production is so amazing and the storytelling is so compelling that it’s not going to be judged on box office alone,” she said. The decision will be based on “the entirety of what ‘Dune’ can do for the company, including HBO Max.” And she also said that because the box office still hasn't recovered from the pandemic, it makes things a little tricky. They're going to have to weigh a lot of factors, basically.

But it does look really, really promising.

Here's the other thing about this whole franchise. Dune: The Sisterhood, which is a prequel series based on the book, is in the works at HBO Max already. So the company is already planning on expanding this universe, à la Marvel. It would be really weird if they decided it wasn't worth doing a second Dune movie, but it *was* worth doing a whole series based on this.

So while we don't have confirmation on the second movie yet, all signs point to a yes.

Credit: Cosmopolitan
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