Legendary, Warner Bros. Confirm DUNE Sequel
By Movieguide® Staff
After a better-than-expected performance at the domestic box office, Legendary confirmed the sequel to Denis Villeneuve’s DUNE.
“I just received news from Legendary that we are officially moving forward with Dune: Part Two,” the movie’s director said. “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.”
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Movieguide® previously reported:
DUNE brought in $40 million domestically on its opening weekend and scored the biggest three-day numbers for Warner Bros. since the beginning of the pandemic. DUNE also garnered another $47 million worldwide.
“I’m smiling,” Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution Jeff Goldstein said on Sunday morning. “Exhibitors are thrilled. The best part is, fans are loving what they’re seeing. They’re loving the big-screen experience. It’s been a winner of a weekend for movie-lovers.”
Much of the success of DUNE can be attributed to its strong biblical worldview with Christological themes.
Based on Frank Herbert’s 1965 ground-breaking science fiction book, DUNE is the second movie adaptation of the iconic story.
“Denis Villeneuve has crafted a film that is both visually extraordinary and emotionally transporting, as evidenced by its global success both critically and at the box office,” Toby Emmerich, Chairman of Warner Bros Picture Group, said. “We are thrilled to continue on this journey with Denis and his cast and crew, and our partners at Legendary, and can’t wait to bring the next chapter of this epic tale to theaters in October 2023.”
“Legendary is pleased to officially move forward with Dune: Part Two … once again based on the amazing books written by Frank Herbert,” Legendary added. “We would not have gotten to this point without the extraordinary vision of Denis and the amazing work of his talented crew, the writers, our stellar cast, our partners at Warner Bros., and of course the fans! Here’s to more Dune.”
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
A portion of Movieguide®’s review of DUNE reads:
DUNE is part one of a futuristic science fiction epic based on the classic 1960s novel. In the story, the Galactic Emperor pits one noble faction, the Atreides family, against the Harkonnen family. He removes the Harkonnens from control of a desert planet, which produces a material called spice that gives people long life and powers space travel. The Emperor transfers the planet’s control to Duke Leto Atreides. Angered by this apparent betrayal, Baron Harkonnen invades the planet and has Duke Leto murdered. Leto’s son, Paul, and Paul’s mother escape, however. Paul believes if he can unite the native population, they can overthrow Baron Harkonnen.
DUNE is a powerful, exciting, satisfying epic. It’s worth seeing on a big screen. Even better, the movie has strong Christological themes, excellent dialogue and conservative statements about freedom and individualism. It affirms a father’s love and the importance of motherhood. DUNE has very little foul language, and no explicit crude content. MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older children and young teenagers because of intense action violence and references to the hallucinogenic properties of the natural resource called spice.