Dune sequel gets official go-ahead

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief | 2h

Warner Bros. gives the go-ahead to Dune: Part Two, with Denis Villeneuve returning as director and Timothee Chalamet back as the lead star.

Warner Bros. and Legendary have confirmed that Dune: Part Two has received the official greenlight.

Dystopian sci-fi epic Dune - starring Timothee Chalamet and directed by Denis Villeneuve - has enjoyed a staggered release around the world over the last six weeks, opening in the US and UK last week.

To date the film has brought in more than $223m (£162m) at the box office including strong domestic receipts of $40.1m (£29.1m), enough to convince the producers to get moving with the sequel.

"I just received news from Legendary that we are officially moving forward with Dune: Part Two," Villeneuve said in a statement.

"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."

Legendary's statement read: "Legendary is pleased to officially move forward with Dune: Part Two...once again based on the amazing books written by Frank Herbert.

"We would not have gotten to this point without the extraordinary vision of Denis and the amazing work of his talented crew, the writers, our stellar cast, our partners at Warner Bros., and of course the fans! Here's to more Dune."

Dune: Part Two will go into pre-production immediately ahead of a planned release on October 20, 2023.