Dune: Legendary Entertainment Gives Sequel The Greenlight
Legendary Entertainment, the production company behind Denis Villeneuve’s first Dune film, officially confirmed the sequel will be made.
WarnerMedia Studios CEO Ann Sarnoff all but confirmed the sequel would receive a green light earlier this month.
She told Deadline, “Will we have a sequel to Dune? if you watch how the movie you see how it ends. I think you pretty much know the answer to that.”
Now, Legendary has confirmed a sequel is in the works writing on Twitter, “This is only the beginning… Thank you to those who have experienced Dune so far, and those who are going in the days and weeks ahead. We’re excited to continue the journey!”
Chairman of Warner Bros. Picture Group Toby Emmerich also revealed the sequel will arrive in theaters in October 2023. He stated, “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.”
He added, “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.”
Director Denis Villeneuve also said, “I just received news from Legendary that we are officially moving forward with Dune: Part Two.”
He added, “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.”
Villeneuve previously detailed in an interview with Variety that his original deal to adapt Frank Herbert’s Dune novel was to do it in two films.
He told Variety, “That was part of the deal at the beginning. I am responsible because I’m the one who asked to make the movie in two parts. And I wanted at the beginning to do both parts simultaneously, in the same time.”
He added, “For several reasons, it didn’t happen. And I agreed with the challenge of making part one and then we wait to see if the movie brings enough enthusiasm.”
He continued, “Which I think it’s an honest approach. I mean, ‘Do you like it? Yeah.’ Then we make a part two. So we’ll see how the audience reacts.”
“I’m optimistic, let’s say that. But we’ll see what happens,” he concluded.
Related: Box Office: Dune Takes Top Spot With $41 Million
The film took the top spot at the box office this past weekend and brought in the largest gross three-day gross for Warner Bros. since it implemented its day-and-date strategy of releasing films in theaters and on HBO Max.
It earned $41 million at the domestic box office. It previously earned $180.6 million in a number of international markets for a total global gross so far of $221.6 million.
Streaming analytics firm Samba TV claims the film was viewed by 1.9 millions U.S. households on HBO Max in its opening weekend. In order to be counted as a viewer by Samba TV you have to watch the title for at least five minutes.
Based on Samba TV’s data, Dune is the sixth highest performing film on HBO Max. Mortal Kombat currently holds the top spot with 3.8 million U.S. households tuning in.
Are you looking forward to the Dune sequel?
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