Denis Villeneuve's highly anticipated Dune sequel faces a delay until March 15, 2024, as Warner Bros announced on Thursday, August 24. This setback coincides with a historic strike affecting both actors' and writers' guilds in Hollywood.
The anticipated release date of April 12, 2024, was also confirmed for "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire," previously scheduled for March 14 of the same year.
Nevertheless, Warner Bros' major December 2023 releases, including "Wonka" (December 15), "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" (December 20), and "The Color Purple" (December 25), remain unaffected for now.
Notably, just a month ago, IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond dismissed reports of Dune: Part Two being delayed, asserting that it would not move from its initial release date of November 3, 2023.
Timothée Chalamet leads the cast, reprising his role as Paul Atreides in this adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi book saga. New additions to the sequel include Austin Butler as the formidable Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, Lea Seydoux as Lady Margot, Souheila Yacoub as a Fremen warrior, and Tim Blake Nelson.
Returning from the 2021 film are Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling, and Stephen McKinley Henderson.
Zendaya, who had a limited role in the first film despite heavy promotion, assured fans that her character will have a more significant presence this time.
Director Denis Villeneuve has described the sequel as "an epic war movie" and "much more dense" than the first installment. The official logline teases Paul Atreides' mythic journey as he unites with Chani and the Fremen, seeking revenge against those who destroyed his family and facing a choice that could determine the fate of the universe.
Meanwhile, a strike involving Hollywood writers and actors continues into its second month. The strike, involving the 160,000 member-strong SAG-AFTRA union, seeks better compensation and assurances against job loss due to artificial intelligence (AI) and other demands.