Warner Bros. Shifts Release Date Of Dave Bautista's Dune 2

Warner Bros. has changed the 2023 North American release date for "Dune: Part Two" from November 17 to November 3. According to a Deadline report, the scheduling change occurred after Disney moved the opening for its Marvel epic "Blade" from November 3 to September 2024. "Dune: Part Two" was previously poised to open against two potential blockbusters — "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" from Lionsgate and "Trolls 3" from Universal/DreamWorks Animation — but will now have a weekend opening without any major competition.

Former WWE wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista, who played Beast Rabban Harkonnen in the 2021 "Dune," is returning for the second installment. In addition to "Dune: Part Two," Bautista's 2023 film slate includes M. Night Shyamalan's "Knock at the Cabin," the Netflix film "Unleashed," "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" and an untitled buddy cop comedy co-starring Jason Momoa. Several of Bautista's castmates from "Dune" — Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Stellan Skargard, Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem — will also return for the sequel. Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, Lea Seydoux and Christopher Walken are among the new additions to the franchise.

"Dune" generated $108.3 million in domestic ticket sales — its box office gross might have been greater if the film had not been released simultaneously on the HBO Max streaming service — and managed to earn a total of $401.8 million worldwide. The Denis Villeneuve-directed adaptation of the classic Frank Herbert science fiction novel received 10 Academy Award nominations including a Best Picture nod, and it won Oscars for Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects.