The Warner Bros CinemaCon panel is bringing something spicy for today’s anticipated presentation. The sequel to Denis Villeneuve’s Dune debuts in theaters on November 3, 2023, but press members and attendees of this week’s show are getting a preview of Dune: Part Two before previews hit online.
During the presentation for Dune: Part Two, it was revealed the sequel was shot entirely for IMAX, making it the ultimate theater experience. At the top of the presentation, Villeneuve, Timothée Chalamet, and Zendaya took the stage. Villeneuve teased the film picks up exactly where 2021’s Dune left off. As Chalamet says, in the first movie, Paul is a student, but in this one, he becomes a leader and redeemer of the Freman. The story also digs deeply into the growing love between Paul and Chani, and Zendays says this was huge for her as, in the first film, her involvement was pretty limited.
Regarding new characters, Villeneuve describes Austin Butler’s Feyd as an Olympic swordsman crossed with a serial killer and Mick Jagger. Christopher Walken, Florence Puge, and Lea Seydoux join the cast.
In addition to teasing new elements of the sequel, Villeneuve screened a Dune: Part Two trailer. JoBlo’s Chris Bumbray is in the audience and says the film looks incredible. The trailer shows all the new characters, and Butler seems terrifying. Feyd doesn’t have any hair, and his skin is chalk white. We also see Paul riding the sandworm, which looks to be one of the movie’s most outrageous set pieces. A lot of the trailer builds around this scene. We also get a tease of the final battle between Paul and Feyd, which Chris says gave him goosebumps.
Scripted by Villeneuve, Eric Roth, and Jon Spaihts, Dune: Part One features Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, “a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource – a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s most tremendous potential – only those who can conquer their fear will survive. Coming to us from Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment, Dune: Part Two will explore “the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.”
Chalamet and Ferguson are joined in the cast by fellow returning Dune: Part One cast members Zendaya, Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Josh Brolin, as well as new additions Austin Butler, Tim Blake Nelson, Christopher Walken, Florence Pugh, Souheila Yacoub, and Léa Seydoux.
Villeneuve also produces the film with Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe, and Patrick McCormick. Spaihts serves as executive producer alongside Josh Grode, Herbert W. Gains, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, Kim Herbert, Thomas Tull, Richard P. Rubinstein, and John Harrison. Kevin J. Anderson is a creative consultant.