'Dune' release gets pushed back another three weeks to October 22nd

If you've been waiting impatiently to see Denis Villeneuve's much anticipated Dune film, you're going to have to cool your heels a bit longer. After being delayed to October 1st, 2021 from its original December 18, 2020 release date, Dune has been pushed back a further three weeks to October 22nd, 2021, Variety has reported. Warner Bros. shuffled several other films as well, moving Clint Eastwood's Cry Macho to September 17th and The Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark to October 1st.

The film, an adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi novel, has a stellar cast that includes Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Stellan Skarsgård, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, Rebecca Ferguson and Javier Bardem. Dune will be the first of two movies and cover the first half of the book, with a second movie arriving at an unknown date based on the second half. An HBO Max prequel has also been announced.

Warner Bros. announced last year that its entire 2021 movie lineup, including Dune, would be released simultaneously on HBO Max. That move didn't sit well with Dune director Denis Villeneuve, who railed against the decision in a searing essay. AT&T announced in May that it would spin off WarnerMedia and merge it with Discovery.