Dune fans it’s time to get excited. For months, very little news about part two of the fantasy blockbuster has been swirling online, with irregular morsels of information being the only sustenance for impatient fans.
But now, something concrete: filming for Dune: Part Two is finally happening. The news was shared via the film’s official Twitter page.
“We’re rolling,” says the dramatic post, “Production on Dune: Part Two has begun.”
Filming is reported to be taking place in numerous new locations around the world, and it is also set to return to some Part One spots including Abu Dhabi and Jordan.
At the beginning of July, it was also reported that pre-shooting had begun in Altivole, Italy. Then full-on production was set to begin several weeks later in Budapest.
We’re rolling. Production on Dune: Part Two has begun. #DuneMovie pic.twitter.com/H31MTEcvcS
— DUNE (@dunemovie) July 18, 2022
In other exciting news, last week it was announced that Souheila Yacoub would be joining the cast. The actor’s past credits include the 2020 drama series No Man’s Land and the 2019 French series Savages.
This report followed the June announcement that Léa Seydoux was set to play Lady Margot in Dune: Part Two.
Deadline reported that the French actress is still in negotiations to join the cast which includes Timothée Chalamet, Josh Brolin and Zendaya.
In May it was confirmed that Christopher Walken and Austin Butler would star in the second film. In March it was also rumoured that Florence Pugh would be joining the cast, but this is yet to be confirmed.
Dune is based on the novel of the same name by Frank Herbert and tells the story of Paul Atreides, a young man grappling with his destiny. As the son of both Duke Leto Atreides, the ruler of planet Caladan, and his concubine Lady Jessica, a Bene Gesserit, he inherits two major lineages and is rumoured to be the “Kwisatz Haderach” or “the one”.
The Bene Gesserit are an all-female social, political and religious (slightly baleful) order that has superhuman powers. Seydoux’s character, Lady Margot, is a member of this supernatural sisterhood.
Dune: Part Two is set to start filming in autumn. The sequel was announced on October 26 last year, just days after the first instalment’s theatrical release.
Dune immediately became a massive hit, bringing in over $400 million worldwide and then winning six Oscars.
The film starred Chalamet as central protagonist Paul Atreides, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto, Zendaya as Chani, Javier Bardem as Stilgar, Brolin as Gurney Halleck and Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho.
Legendary composer Hans Zimmer - whose composing credits include The Lion King, Gladiator, Hannibal, Batman Begins, Inception and Interstellar, won an Oscar for creating the score for the film.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, director Denis Villeneuve, whose past work includes Prisoners, Sicario, Arrival and Blade Runner 2049, said, “I spent decades imagining Dune, several years actually writing and creating it, and another excruciating year when it couldn’t be released because of the pandemic. The full journey has taken most of my life.”
Seydoux found critical acclaim in 2013 with her role as Sidonie Laborde in Benoît Jacquot‘s Farewell, My Queen and as Emma in Blue Is the Warmest Colour (for which she won a Palme d’Or at Cannes). She has since starred in The Grand Budapest Hotel, Spectre, The French Dispatch, and No Time to Die.
This year she starred in One Fine Morning alongside Nicole Garcia, Pascal Greggory and Melvil Poupaud. The film was written and directed by Mia Hansen-Løve and won the Europa Cinemas Label Award for Best European Film at Cannes.
