Dune 2 release date, cast, and everything you need to know about the upcoming sequel
Jan. 26, 2024Get caught up on Dune: Part Two before its March release date
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Dune 2 is right around the corner, and we finally know what critics think. For everything you need to know about ourDune: Part Two review, read on below, as well as the latest on the new movie. It’s certainly been a long wait for the highly anticipated follow-up to Denis Villeneuve’s award-winning blockbuster, after a series of delays pushed it back to its March release date.
Chalamet returns as rebel leader Paul Atreides, with Zendaya’s Chani at his side, to avenge his family and prevent a terrible future that only he can predict. The film was delayed four different times due to theSAG-AFTRA strike– and Villeneuve stayed busy writinga third installment(and aspin-off seriesbased on the books has already been cast.)
If you’re not up to date with everything Dune: Part Two, there’s still time to catch up before the movie’s release. We’ve rounded up the full cast, the plot (as told from Villeneuve himself), and all three trailers. Get ready to scroll.
Dune 2 release date
The official runtimeis 2 hours and 45 minutes, which is only 11 minutes longer than Dune: Part One. Moviegoers can watch the film in IMAX 70mm at select theaters.
Dune: Part One ends with Paul going against his mother’s wishes and teaming up with the desert world’s people, the Fremen, in an effort to free it from the evil Harkonnens – whom Paul’s family has been fighting for centuries – and fulfill his father’s goal of bringing peace to Arrakis. (And a sandworm swallows a bunch of people).
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Dune: Part Two is the second of Denis Villeneuve’s two-part adaptation of the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert and picks up exactly where Part One left off. PerVariety, “Paul Atreides continues his journey, united with Chani and the Fremen, as he seeks revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family, and endeavors to prevent a terrible future that only he can predict.”
The official logline for Dune: Part 2 reads: “Paul faces 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.”
“All of the elements are there,” Villeneuve continued. “But I think the movie adaptation is more tragic than the book. The way that Part Two ends… it would create a total balance and equilibrium to finish Paul’s storyline in what we could say in Part Three.”
Timothée Chalamet toldTotal Filmall about the sandworm-riding scene (which is teased in the trailers), saying, “Beyond being an exciting sequence in the movie, it represents a coming of age, it’s where Paul’s supposed prophecy would fall flat, and it would mean his death if he can’t rise to the occasion. So the stakes of that moment are huge, and the doing of it was thrilling. It was industrial fans blowing sand, and a slab of worm was built. It was an amazing experience.”
As the world of Dune expands, so does its cast of heroes and villains. The usual suspects are back, save for Oscar Isaac’s Leto who got (spoiler) in Part One.
New additions to the cast include Léa Seydoux as Lady Margot, Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, Souheila Yacoub as Shishakli, Christopher Walken as Padyszach Imperator Szaddam IV, and Tim Blake Nelson in an undisclosed role. Austin Butler plays the new big bad, Feyd-Rautha, who is the nephew and heir of Stellan Skarsgård’s Baron Harkonnen. Plus,Anya Taylor-Joy’s surprise appearance at the world premiereconfirmed the rumors that she had joined the cast for Part Two.
Zendaya’s limited role as Chani in Part One will be greatly expanded in Part Two, even beyond the scope of the novel, with director Denis Villeneuve tellingTotal Film"as the movie progresses, there’s a shift in the main character, and Chani becomes my reference as a point of view."
“He was really able to build out a strong sense of [Chani’s] own views and life,” Zendaya echoed. “It wasn’t entirely like she’s at the will of who she’s in love with. I did feel a particular sense of care for what Chani represents in his films.”
Butler described his villain character to Total Film, saying, “Denis described him to me as having a psychotic nature, but yet there’s something sort of seductive about him as well. And he’s hungry for power. I started thinking: ‘Well, how did he grow up? What would his voice sound like? How would he breathe? How would he move?’ That was the real fun, where you start filling in all those details, and putting meat on the bone.”
It’s the full five stars for the hugely anticipated sequel. Total Film’s reviewer writes: “Has Denis Villeneuve’s road always been leading into Frank Herbert’s desert? In 1998, his debut August 32nd on Earth showed a poetic feel for character and sandy landscapes; fish-eyed follow-up Maelström, meanwhile, revealed a surreal flair. His clout as an action director emerged later, but be assured: with outsized pomp, punch and weirding business, Part Two positions his Dune duology as one of the great mind-melds of director to material in modern fantasy filmmaking.”
This follows on from thefirst reactionsto Dune 2, which poured in after the world premiere.
Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent’s Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.
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