Dune: Part One won six below-the-line Oscars last year, and the film’s talented crafts team will be heading back to Arrakis for the sequel, which is now filming under the direction of Denis Villeneuve.
Cinematographer Greig Fraser, Composer Hans Zimmer, Editor Joe Walker, Production Designer Patrice Vermette, and the team of Visual Effects Supervisor Paul Lambert and Special Effects Supervisor Gerd Nefzer will all be back for Part Two, as will Costumer Designer Jacqueline West and Makeup, Hair and Prosthetic Designer Donald Mowat, both of whom earned Oscar nominations for their work on Dune. You can also expect the Oscar-winning Sound team from Part One to return for Part Two, since the first film boasted incredible sound.
Villeneuve had hinted earlier this year that he’d be getting the below-the-line gang on Dune back together.
“The thing that helps us right now is that it’s the first time I’ve revisited a universe. So I’m working with the same crew, everybody knows what to do, we know what it will look like. The movie will be more challenging, but we know where we are stepping. And the screenplay is written. So I feel confident,” Villeneuve told Variety before noting that the only unknown for him is the pandemic.
Dune: Part Two is currently filming on location in Budapest, Abu Dhabi, Jordan and Italy. According to Warner Bros. and Legendary, the sequel continues to follow the mythic journey of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) as he unites with Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.
In addition to Chalamet and Zendaya, returning cast members include Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling, and Stephen McKinley Henderson. They’ll be joined by new additions such as Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Souheila Yacoub, and Christopher Walken, who will play the Emperor.
Villeneuve’s Dune opened in theaters last October on the same day the film debuted on HBO Max. It managed to gross $400 million worldwide and earn 10 Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture. Dune: Part Two will premiere exclusively in theaters on Nov. 17, 2023.
