While attending a special screening and Q&A for Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures' "Dune" at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation in Los Angeles this past Saturday, The Film Stage's Josh Encinias made note that the film's producer Mary Parent confirmed that the recently greenlit "Dune: Part Two" will begin filming on July 18, 2022. This news comes after "Dune: Part One" has taken in nearly $84 million at the domestic box office and over $330 million worldwide, which is about where box office analysts predicted the break-even point for the film would be.

While Warners must have certainly expected a more robust take when they approved the first film for production, the fact that "Dune" is also available for streaming and most definitely boosting HBO Max's subscriber numbers adds a significant — though nebulous — amount of value to the pot. The reality is the studio very likely projected these numbers weeks if not months ago, and has been quietly developing the second film with director Denis Villeneuve for some time, including deals for new and returning talent.

Villeneuve also confirmed that, despite rabid speculation, there will be no extended "Director's Cut" of Part One, as the version that exists right now in theaters and on streaming is his preferred final cut. Famous last words, but for now we will have to take him at those words.

A Race To The Finish Line?

So, what can we discern from that mid-2022 production date? For one, it means that the film will now have eight months to mount what are sure to be massive sets wherever they end up shooting "Dune: Part Two." It would make sense for them to return to Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Budapest, where the first one lensed, but studio availability and post-COVID costs will likely dictate those locales. This is on top of the many more months they have already taken to prep the film, which at this point is extensive. You can read what we expect to see in the next one based on the book right here.

The filmmakers will be doing this prep on top of what is sure to be a busy awards season attending promotional events, like the one where this news broke. Also remember that the first film shot over an eight month period, which means that even if the second movie wraps main unit shooting by the end of 2022, it will have a far more truncated post-production schedule as it races to make its intended October 2023 release date. With that short of a window, it would not be out of the realm of possibility that WB could move the date to December 2023 or sometime in 2024.

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The post Dune: Part Two Will Begin Filming In July 2022 appeared first on /Film.