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Dune delayed! The sci-fi epic will hibernate in the sand until October 2021: Report
Bad news, Frank Herbert fans, but your lust for spice won't be satiated anytime soon. According to a new report from Collider corroborated by The Wrap, Denis Villeneuve's all-star blockbuster remake of Dune will not be gracing movie screens this year. Due to uncertainties stemming from the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis, Warner Bros. has decided to postpone the film's release to Oct. 1, 2021.
That's right, we'll have to wait another year before we can visit the perilous and worm-filled sand dunes of Arrakis. You may also have noticed that's the same slot for WB's The Batman, which could either be moved back to summer 2021 or pushed further into next fall/early 2022.
The sci-fi epic was originally slated to hit theaters Friday, Dec. 18, but the studio probably doesn't want to risk another Tenet-sized disappointment at the U.S. box office. Moreover, Wonder Woman 1984 is still scheduled for a theatrical debut on Dec. 25 (Christmas Day) and WB may not want to muddy the financial waters with two big releases so close together. To top things off, Cineworld (owner of the Regal chain in America) decided to temporarily shut down its locations again.
Dune, which dropped its first trailer just a few weeks ago, is the second major cinematic project to be delayed in the last week. On Friday, MGM and Eon Productions announced that No Time to Die would be shifted to April 2021 (nearly a year after its intended release date). As a result, Fast & Furious 9 was bumped to May 28, 2021 (Memorial Day).
Based on Herbert's seminal science fiction novel published in 1965, Villeneuve's adaptation features a crackshot cast of: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem. Next October's movie will only be one half of the massive source material, as Villeneuve plans to tackle the latter half in a second big screen installment. That said, the studio has yet to officially green-light a follow-up movie.
