Production on Dune: Part Two is officially underway, as confirmed by a new behind-the-scenes photo shared by the movie's social media. Visionary director Denis Villeneuve is the latest filmmaker to bring Frank Herbert's seminal 1965 sci-fi novel to life. Released last October as the first of a planned two-part adaptation, Dune received stellar reviews and reactions from both critics and audiences, eventually swooping up six technical award wins as this year's past Academy Awards.
Just four days after Dune's simultaneous release in theaters and on HBO Max, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures greenlit Dune: Part Two and announced a 2023 release date. Villeneuve returns in the director's chair for the sequel alongside his co-writers Eric Roth and Jon Spaiths who penned the script. Many members of Dune's ensemble cast will also return for Part Two, including Timothée Chalamet as the primary protagonist Paul Atreides alongside Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Charlotte Rampling. Now, the highly-anticipated sequel has officially taken another major step forward.
Per Warner Bros., cameras are now rolling on the sequel as production on Dune: Part Two has begun. The announcement was accompanied by a BTS image of the film's clapperboard, which is inscribed with the Fremen battle cry, "Long live the fighters!" The clapboard also confirms the return of Greig Fraser as director of photography, who won the Best Cinematography Oscar for Dune and also shot The Batman.
Recent reports indicated that Dune: Part Two would begin filming much sooner than expected, and now those claims have been proven to be true. If those prior reports are completely accurate, the sequel started pre-shooting in Italy earlier this month before full-on production began in Budapest with a bulk of the cast returning. -CBR