Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two is changing release dates, for a second time. In welcome news for the fans on this occasion, Warner Bros. Pictures has decided to bring the movie forward to November 3, 2023. This follows hot on the heels of today’s news that Marvel’s Blade, previously set to premiere on that date, has been pushed back to September 6, 2024.
Shortly after the U.S. premiere of Dune: Part One, in October 2021, the second part was green-lighted and allocated an October 20, 2023 release date. That first changed earlier this summer, when the studios delayed the movie four weeks into November 17, 2023. While latter date was positioned strategically before Thanksgiving, it featured premieres of both The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and Trolls 3.
By moving forward two weeks, Dune: Part Two avoids that more crowded weekend. Based on 2023’s current theatrical release slate, the movie can realistically expect to dominate premium format screens for at least its first two weeks. That was key to the first part’s box office success, with IMAX accounting for 20% of its domestic earnings, despite limited availability.
The decisive nature of this shift to November 3, 2023 also seems to indicate confidence from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, that production of Dune: Part Two is on track. Its first days of filming took place early July in Italy, before the full cast and crew gathered later that month in Hungary. As of early October, production was winding down at latter location, with actresses Florence Pugh and Charlotte Rampling reportedly having wrapped their final scenes.
According to a source involved in the movie’s production, next they’ll shoot for around two months in the deserts of Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. This period of filming will feature many scenes with Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, and Javier Bardem. There should also be more of Josh Brolin and Dave Bautista, as well as presence of new cast members, such as Souheila Yacoub.
Assuming shooting is completed by December, that allows for a full 8-9 months of post-production work, before Dune: Part Two makes its premiere at one of the (late) fall 2023 film festivals.