Bad news, Dune fans. Our trip to Arrakis has been majorly postponed. Denis Villeneuve's Dune has been pushed out of its December 18, 2020 spot for a new release date on October 1, 2021, Collider reports.
Yes, that means the movie has gone from being just a small handful of months away to a full year away.
The decision reportedly comes after Warner Bros. shuffled its upcoming release calendar to account for other delays, such as Wonder Woman 1984, which was bumped from its October 2 spot to Christmas Day. The change probably isn't a major surprise to anyone who has been keeping tabs on blockbusters, as it seems to be yet another piece of a trend for studios entering the back-half of the year. MGM has also pushed the upcoming James Bond film, No Time To Die, from its November 12 spot to April 2, 2021, and Disney has moved Black Widow to May 7, 2021.
Interestingly, an October 1 release date puts Dune in direct competition with another delayed Warner Bros. movie, Matt Reeves' The Batman, which was scheduled to occupy that space back in April. It remains unclear if they will both remain set on the same date or if we should anticipate a further delay for The Batman in the coming weeks.
Dune is an adaptation of Frank Herbert's epic sci-fi novel of the same name and features performances by Timothee Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Josh Brolin, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem.