Dust off your stillsuits, people – Dune: Part Two has reportedly finished filming.
The news comes by way of Paul Atreides himself, aka star Timothée Chalamet, who posted a photo of himself to Instagram – in what appears to be Jordan’s Wadi Rum desert – with a caption reading: “DUNE 2 WRAPPED (with desert dad !!).”
The highly-anticipated sequel to director Denis Villeneuve’s Dune is set to be released on November 3, 2023, suggesting the bulk of next year will be devoted to post-production work for the Blade Runner: 2049 filmmaker. Although, it's possible that Chalamet’s comment only refers to his own filming schedule.
Initial production got underway on Dune: Part Two earlier this year, with filming taking place in locations such as Budapest, Abu Dhabi, Jordan, and Italy. For an idea of how Villeneuve went about that principal photography, check out our piece on how Dune's production team brought the world of Arrakis to life in Dune: Part One, which features insight from the film’s visual effects supervisor Paul Lambert, head of production design Patrice Vermette, and director of photography Greig Fraser. All three are believed to have returned for Dune: Part Two.
Alongside Chalamet, actors reprising their roles from the first Dune movie include Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling, Stellan Skarsgård, Javier Bardem, and Stephen McKinley Henderson. Newcomers to Frank Herbert’s sci-fi universe include Florence Pugh (Black Widow, Don’t Worry Darling), Austin Butler (Elvis), Léa Seydoux (No Time to Die), and Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter).
As its title suggests, Dune: Part Two will pick up directly after the abrupt end to Dune: Part One, which saw Chalamet’s superpowered prince, Paul Atreides, join forces with the Fremen after surviving the Harkonnen attack on his family.
Per Warner Bros’ official plot synopsis, Villeneuve’s sequel will "explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee."
Pugh, Butler, Seydoux, and Walken will star as Princess Irulan Corrino, villain Feyd-Rautha, Bene Gesserit Lady Margot, and Emperor Shaddam IV, respectively – four characters who don’t appear until the second half of Herbert’s novel.
Warner Bros. is betting big on Villeneuve’s Arrakeen vision. Expected to arrive soon after Dune: Part Two is Dune: The Sisterhood, an HBO Max-exclusive spin-off series positioned as a prequel to the first Dune movie. Dune: Awakening – a sprawling MMO video game set in Herbert’s Dune universe – is also on the horizon, though the jury is out on its release date.
In any case, Dune's even-more-star-studded follow-up ranks among the most anticipated new movies of 2023, and we can't wait to return to the desert plains of Arrakis for more worm-riding action.
