Dune Part 2 has been delayed to next year, due to the ongoing actors strike in Hollywood. The highly-anticipated sci-fi sequel starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya has been moved from its initial November 3 slot to 15th March 2024. The Dune sequel will get an IMAX release as well, with an earlier report noting that supported screens would be hosting the film for an extended run of up to six weeks.
Dune 2 becomes the biggest casualty to date in terms of the strike’s impact on the 2023 theatrical release calendar, and isn’t great news for theater owners. But the impact could have been far worse. Tellingly, Warners is keeping its three big December movies on the calendar: Wonka (Dec. 15), Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (Dec. 20) and The Color Purple (Dec. 25).
As per The Hollywood Reporter’s sources, WB is still committed to theatrical releases, even amidst the uncertainty of the Hollywood dual strikes organized by the WGA (The Writer’s Guild of America) and the aforementioned actors’ union.
Dune Part 2 picks up right where the first chapter ended, with Paul Atreides (Chalamet), Chani (Zendaya), and the Fremen soldiers uniting on a warpath of revenge against the Harkonnen lineage, the conspirators who killed Paul’s family. The sequel brings in some new faces such as Austin Butler as the cruel Feyd-Rautha, Pugh as Princess Irulan, Christopher Walken as Emperor Shaddam IV, and Léa Seydoux as the Bene Gesserit Lady Margot.
Dune: Part Two is now slated to release March 15, 2024 in theatres worldwide.