The second half of Dune will begin filming in summer 2022, a year before it's set to premiere in 2023 exclusively on theaters.
Dune: Part Two will start filming on July 18, 2022, a producer for the film has said, according to The Film Stage reporter Josh Encinias (via SlashFilm). Encinias heard the filming date when he attended a special screening and Q&A session hosted by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation this past Saturday in Los Angeles.
Dune grossed $41 million in its opening weekend, setting a pandemic record for Warner Bros. That's also considering that Dune was simultaneously released on HBO Max for no extra cost. As of November 8, Dune has grossed almost $84 million domestically and $246,500,000 internationally according to BoxOfficeMojo.
Dune: Part Two has an official release date of October 20, 2023, exclusively in theaters. Villeneuve is set to return as director. Dune was set up as a multi-part series, and Part One ends with Paul and mother Jessica Atreides finally linking up with the Fremen, setting up an obvious next installment.
Encinias also reported that director Denis Villeneuve said there is no extended cut of the film, and that the only version of the film is what made it to theaters and HBO Max. And in a much more strange bit of trivia, the guttural roars of Dune's iconic sandworms were made by the supervising sound editor Mark Mangini putting a small mic down his throat and making noises. Movie magic, y'all.
The script for Dune: Part Two is still in the works, though, according to an earlier comment from Villeneuve. Composer Hans Zimmer, however, has already made about 90 minutes of new music for Part Two to help Villeneuve as he writers.
You can read more about what to expect in Dune: Part Two here, including which characters may return, new characters that will likely be introduced, and even romantic entanglements for primary characters.
Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.