Dune Movie Delayed 10 Months To October 2021

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Dune Movie Delayed 10 Months To October 2021

Denis Villeneuve's Dune has officially been delayed to October 2021. The latest adaptation of Frank Herbert's iconic sci-fi novel was one of the most anticipated films of the year thanks to its star-studded cast and Villeneuve's direction. However, 2020 has seen an unprecedent level of movie delays because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused movie theaters around the globe to close for long stretches of time. With its end-of-year release date, Dune initially seemed poised to avoid any shuffles.

However, that changed when Warner Bros. moved Wonder Woman 1984 from early October to Christmas Day. When that change was announced, many assumed Dune would be the next to move purely because it is also a Warner Bros. film and was scheduled one week before Wonder Woman 1984 on December 18. At the time, the studio kept the two tentpoles close together. Now, though, following a flurry of high-profile delays (Black Widow, No Time to Die), Warner Bros. has pulled the trigger on bumping Dune.

Per Collider, Dune has been delayed from mid-December all the way to October 1, 2021. This puts Dune's release at just under a year from now, and ten months after its original date. Screen Rant has reached out to Warner Bros. to confirm.

While this is another nail in the coffin for 2020's box office prospects, Dune certainly stands a better chance of being a success if it comes out in late 2021. A vast majority of people are still wary of returning to movie theaters, and Regal even plans to close several locations once again for the time being. Dune rolling out in October 2021 means there's still plenty of time for theaters to get back to normal (if they ever can), thus ensuring more people will be ready to see it. Despite all the positive buzz around it, Dune is still something of a box office risk, so it needs to be released under the best possible circumstances.

However, Dune's move spells trouble for another Warner Bros. pic. Matt Reeves' The Batman was once planned for June 2021, but when production was delayed in mid-March, the studio bumped it to October 1. As it stands right now, this means it'll be sharing a release date with Dune. Most likely, The Batman will see its release adjusted once more, which could then impact 2021's other DC releases, The Suicide Squad and Black Adam. For now, Warner Bros. has only moved Dune, so those who were looking forward to seeing Timothée Chalamet and Oscar Isaac dominate the big screen this year will have to rein in their excitement. They've still got quite the wait ahead of them.