Right after its success at the worldwide box office, it seems that the Dune franchise is back in action, as a brand new real-time strategy game has been teased titled Dune: Spice Wars. The franchise has quite the gaming history and it looks like they are banking on its returning success to give it a second life as one and it’s an exciting prospect to add a new
Source: YouTube
Earlier this week, Warner Bros. announced it plans to re-release Dune for a limited IMAX run in December. The news came as the film was on the cusp of hitting $100 million at the domestic box office. With the re-release planned, it was all but certain the film would achieve the feat, it was just a matter of when. And as it turns out, Dune was able to hit $100 million domestically without the help of the re-release.
The numbers are in and Dune is on track for $2.2 million this weekend. That is enough to bring the film’s domestic haul to $102 million. In the Pandemic-era, crossing the $100-million mark at the domestic box office is an impressive feat. Gone are the days where $200 million is the norm. In fact, to date, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Venom: Let There be Carnage are the only releases this year to hit that milestone. While a $200 million domestic haul is still up in the air, Dune now retains the title of the top-grossing movie release among all Warner Bros. and HBO Max releases for 2021.
With its planned IMAX re-release still set for Dec. 3, it’s likely Dune will see an uptick in its domestic haul. As it stands, IMAX screenings brought in $50 million of the film’s overall domestic gross. Releasing the film back in IMAX should help boost that number even more.
Source: Box Office Guru
It looks like Warner Bros. is excited about the success of Dune, which is currently on its way to becoming their second film to pass the $100M mark at the domestic box office. The film just left HBO Max, as it was still part of the streaming deal that Warner Bros. made last year. As around $50M of its income worldwide is from IMAX showings and domestically an impressive 20% of its total box office, it seems they want to use the chance to re-release it again for a limited time on December 3rd.
The film was specially shot for the format. So, it makes sense that they’d want to continue to bank on it. Select locations will even have a 1.43 aspect ratio vs. the usual IMAX offering of 1.90:1 that adds up to 40% more of the film’s picture. The film was shot with this format in mind, which Warner Bros. and Legendary banked on while advertising the film.
Of course, it was a bit of a conflict with the simultaneous streaming release, but Dune still has shown a strong box office holding. It currently still remains in the top 5 and was only pushed out of the top spot with the release of Eternals. It’ll be interesting to see if this additional screening will add a decent boost to its performance.
Source: Deadline
After people got very upset at the prospect of a Marvel Studios film undergoing reshoots, some folks with their ears to the ground came through with some info that made a lot of sense. As it turns out, the reshoots aren’t because the film is “a mess”, but rather to get some more cast, who were unavailable during principal photography, into the film.
According to a grid leaked by Daniek RPK, Marvel Studios in now developing a solo Daredevil project. There was no indication if the project is meant for theaters or Disney Plus and we still don’t know if Charlie Cox is continuing his portrayal of the Netflix character or starting from scratch. This one looks like it’ll be a ways off yet, but we can all see Cox pretty soon in No Way Home.
Uber-visionary mega-auteur Denis Villeneuve has finally gone too far. Rather than de-age the nearly ageless Sting, or simply insert his scenes into Dune Part 2, Villeneuve has plans to bring a new actor in for the role of Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. This is an instance of the director absurdly believing the character is more important than the actor. Surely this will backfire.
As Letitia Wright continues to recover from injuries she sustained while filming in August, the production on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has wrapped…for the year. A note was delivered to the cast and crew this week that indicated they would all be home for the holidays...all of the holidays…and production would get geared up again in January. The delay is not expected to shift the film’s release date, so stop the drama!
The Netflix live-action adaptation of Avatar has begun production and the cast continues to fill in nicely. Fans are eagerly scouring the internet for any kernel of info about the new series and so are we! Keep checking back for more.
After suing Disney over the contractual issues surrounding the home release of Black Widow, Scarlett Johansson is, according to Kevin Feige, back to work for Marvel Studios. While the master of dissembling didn’t say what she was working on, he did say what she wasn’t: it won’t be a Black Widow project. He also didn’t mention if she was starring in the project or directing/producing, so really who the hell knows?
50 Shades stud Jamie Dornan has started to break out of the pigeon-sized hole his role in those films put him in and now he’s revealed that he has spoken to Marvel Studios One-Above-All, Kevin Feige, about a potential hero role in a Marvel Studios production. It’ll be interesting to see the Irish actor transition from S&M to CBM, but if anyone can do it, it’s Henry Cavill lite.
Since it was revealed that the general premise of the Ahsoka series would be the search for Ezra, fans have been waiting to find out who would be cast as Sabine Wren. Natasha Liu Bordizzo is the big winner as it was revealed this week she’d be filling the armor and and teaming up with Rosario Dawson in the series.
It’s been nearly radio silent on the MCU’s Blade reboot since Kevin Feige announced it at SDCC ’19. That’s all changing now as the casting process has begun in earnest ahead of a late-Summer of 2022 start of production. Delroy Lindo, simply one of the coolest men on the face of the planet, has been cast in an undisclosed role alongside star Mahershala Ali. Murphy’s money is on Lindo playing Jamal Afari, Blade’s father figure and mentor in the ways of staking vampires.
It didn’t take long after the release of Dune that we got the confirmation for a sequel. As the film only covered around half of the original novel, the lack of an announcement had some on edge if director Denis Villeneuve will truly be able to bring his vision to life. Luckily, now that we have the confirmation, it opens up new questions, such as who we might expect in the sequel if he might make some changes to the source material. In a recent interview with Empire, the director confirmed that Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen – the heir to the throne of House Harkonnen will appear in Dune: Part Two:
Definitely. That’s a choice that I personally brought on. There was enough characters that were introduced in this first part, and it will be more elegant to keep Feyd for Part Two. It will be definitely a very, very important character in the second part.
Denis Villeneuve
Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen is a brother of Beast Rabann and the nephew of Baron Harkonnen. He is a young man, who is just a year older than Paul and is preparing to become the Baron’s successor. Not just that, he’s also part of the genetic plan mentioned by Gaius Helen Mohiam in the film.
They’ll now have a chance to explore the parallels between Feyd and Paul, who grew up in very different circumstances and have quite a few things in common. It’ll be interesting to see how Villeneuve brings this character to life and how close he’ll stick to the books.
Source: Empire
Dune was only a prelude to a grander and much more complex story in the world created by Frank Herbert. As the film only adapted approximately two-thirds of the first book, many fans were hoping for a sequel to be confirmed sooner rather than later. Especially because of many unfinished plot lines left by director Denis Villeneuve and Chani’s words at the end of the film – “This is only the beginning.” With the second part of Dune officially announced, let’s look ahead to three things we can expect in the sequel.
Dune: Part Two will introduce several new characters who will play significant roles in the story. Without a doubt, the biggest addition will be Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen – the brother of Beast Rabann and nephew of Baron Harkonnen. Feyd is a young man, just a year older than Paul, who is being prepared to be the Baron’s successor and who is also part of the genetic plan mentioned by Gaius Helen Mohiam. The filmmakers will have an opportunity to highlight the parallels between Feyd and Paul, who grew up in very different circumstances and have quite a few things in common.
Another character will be, of course, be Emperor Shadam IV who was mentioned a couple of times in Dune: Part One. The sequence on Selusa Secundus itself gave us a bit of a taste of what kind of character the Emperor might be. He’s not another Palpatine, but a slightly more nuanced character who got caught up in the Bene Gesserit and had a lot of doubts about his actions.
Speaking of the Emperor, we have to mention his eldest daughter – Princess Irulan being a Bene Gesserit, who is a very important character in Paul’s story. She is a chronicler, and it’s her words that open the story of Dune. The sequel should also introduce Hasimir and Margot Fenring in the film. Hasimir is the Emperor’s best friend who has been sent to Giedi Prime to look into Feyd-Rautha as well as confront Baron’s plans. Out of the other major characters, we’ll also get to see Alia Atreides – Paul’s sister, whom he saw in one of his visions.
In one of his interviews for the Italian magazine Il Venerdì di Repubblica, Villeneuve mentioned that Chani, played by Zendaya, would be the protagonist of the story in Part Two. This statement outraged many people, but there’s a reason why Chani will be so important in the second part. As Paul moves further and further away from humanity and dives deeper and deeper into his (anti)messianic figure for the Fremen, Chani will be the person who will be his anchor in the present. Through her, Paul will stay in touch with humanity and Chani will act as a beacon of light.
The first part made us step into the shoes of Paul Atreides, and together we began to discover Arrakis and his inner nature. However, Paul’s journey is not a typical Cambellian pattern of the protagonist’s journey. Herbert broke out of that pattern, and Paul is a certain deconstruction of that trope. In the first film, we saw Paul’s potential future, leading to a bloody holy war in his name. Paul himself will want to escape this, but the further into the woods he gets, the more he solidifies that he has fallen into a messiah trap where fanatics have blindly followed his words. It was already evident in Part One how the Fremen had ingrained the fable of Lisan al-Gaib into their culture, which Paul incidentally used to survive. What will be important in this context is the perspective of those around Paul, who will face a persona that is nothing like his father.
The sight of a Fremen riding a sandworm in the final scene in Dune certainly sparked the imagination of many viewers as to what might await us next. We’ve only been given a glimpse of Fremen culture, and the second part will only expand that corner of the world. Together with Paul, we will delve into the huge Fremen sietches which can accommodate thousands of people. We will learn about their beliefs and customs, and the second film should open with an extremely psychedelic scene involving the water of life. We should also be introduced to the Fremen’s ecological plan to terraform Arrakis into a green paradise, which is an extremely important theme throughout the series. Villeneuve has shown that he can emphasize the monumentalism and scale of the world, and the second part has much more to offer.
Dune: Part One is currently in theaters.
Shortly after Dune‘s release in cinemas, we got the announcement that works already started on the sequel. It would end the adaptation of the first book, which director Denis Villeneuve purposefully split into two parts. When the release date was announced, it was quite a surprise given how much time for pre-production would be necessary but turned out the director already had most of that work done. Now, we might also finally have a production start as it is currently planning on Kicking off in July 2022.
The last film left us off with Timothée Chalamet‘s Paul Atreides finally meeting up with the Freman and facing his future, as their potential Messiah. It ended in a tragedy, as he’s lost his father, their entire empire, and even some close friends along the way. Now, he is face-to-face with the woman of his dreams (quite literally) who might put him on a future that’ll change his life in the galaxy forever. It’ll be interesting to see how Villeneuve builds upon the first film and also starts expanding our understanding of the planet Arrakis.
Source: Collider
There was little to no competition for Dune and Halloween Kills this weekend.
Denis Villeneueve’s Dune retained it’s top spot at the box office after pulling in another $15.5 million during the slow Halloween weekend – a 62% dip from last weekend. That is enough to bring the film’s domestic haul to $69.4 million after 10 days in release. The film also did well internationally, bringing in $21.4 million from 75 markets, including $33 from China. To date, Dune has earned $292.1 million at the worldwide box office.
Halloween Kills came in second, pulling in $8.5 million during its third outing. So far, the film has earned $85.6 million domestically. Coming in third place is the James Bond film, No Time to Die, which took in another $7.8 million. The latest James Bond film has now surpassed $600 million at the worldwide box office after opening to $28.2 million in China.
The biggest surprise of the weekend, however, didn’t come from one of the big titles. FUNimation’s My Hero Academia: World Heroes Mission surprised everyone with $6 million from just 1,600 locations. (By comparison, Halloween Kills was still playing in 3,616 locations this weekend.)
The biggest new release this week was Edgar Wright‘s The Last Night in Soho, which faltered at the box office with just $4.2 million from 3,016 theaters. That is well below the $8 million box office experts estimated going into the weekend.
Source: THR
Denis Villeneuve‘s Dune finally got the sequel announcement with an official release date. Yet, we were quite surprised that it’s already eyeing an October release in 2023. It made us wonder if they already had most of the pre-production ready as they prepare the sequel. Luckily, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the director confirmed that they already have a script ready and have most of the pre-production done with the work from the initial film.
It’s fantastic news, but it’s also kind of a burden. The good news is that a lot of the work has been done already regarding design, casting, locations and writing. So we’re not starting from scratch. It’s not a long period of time, but I will try to face that challenge because it’s important for me that the audience sees Part Two as soon as possible.
Denis Villeneuve
Villeneuve is very keen on making sure there’s not a long break between the sequels, which makes it quite interesting that it took this long until we got the official announcement for a sequel. Still, he also goes on to highlight how his approach to his sequel also highlights why he can jump into the sequel.
It’s not a sequel where it’s another episode or another story with the same characters. It actually has direct continuity to the first movie. It’s the second part of the big huge movie that I’m trying to do. So the sooner the better.
Denis Villeneuve
The approach makes sense, especially given that both parts are technically part of the same story. Part Two would take place exactly at the point where the first one ended. It’s strange they didn’t use the chance to shoot them back to back, as Warner Bros. already was eyeing to expand this franchise. So, why not keep production costs to a minimum and approach it in one massive shoot. We might never know, but it’s good Villeneuve gets to continue his vision of the series.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
After Dune was finally released in cinemas, we were clamoring for the sequel to finally get an announcement. Luckily, Warner Bros. didn’t waste any time and officially greenlit Dune: Part Two a few days ago. Yet, it seems that director Denis Villeneuve entered production with a sequel in mind, as the story finds an abrupt end on their journey to meet the Fremen of Arrakis. Yet, it seems that he has even more plans for the franchise’s future.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he opened up on how he’s approaching Frank Herbert‘s book series. While the sequel will finish up the story from the original novel, he plans to include Dune: Messiah as it would cap off the story of Timothée Chalamet‘s Paul Atreides.
I always envisioned three movies. It’s not that I want to do a franchise, but this is Dune, and Dune is a huge story. In order to honor it, I think you would need at least three movies. That would be the dream. To follow Paul Atreides and his full arc would be nice.
Denis Villeneuve
Oddly, he’d point out he doesn’t want to create a franchise, as there’s also an HBO Max spinoff in development that added Diane Ademu-John as showrunner this July. Still, his point is more on how Herbert’s books get “psychedelic” as they go on. He seems open to potentially tackling all of them at some point but his main focus would be to end the original novel and adapt Messiah. Of course, Children of Dune and God Emperor of Dune would make for some crazy cinema, such as seeing a person turn into a human-sandworm hybrid as EW points out.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
