‘Dune 2’ is Skipping Venice

When Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” premiered at the 2021 Venice Film Festival, it was nothing short of a triumphant debut. Venice consequently launched a film that would rack up 10 Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture.

The sequel, one of the year’s most anticipated movies, has a November release date and, according to Deadline, will not be ready for a Venice launch this year due to all the VFX work still left to complete.

This would mean no TIFF bow either. Maybe no Festival premiere at all, unless NYFF or AFI become an option for Warner Bros.

“Dune” was praised by critics, honored with a slew of awards and, if it was even possible, augmented Villeneuve’s status as one of the most heralded filmmakers working within the big studio system today.

The sequel has an incredible cast, Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Dave Bautista, Stellan Skargard, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem and Charlotte Rampling, Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, Lea Seydoux, Christopher Walken and Tim Blake Nelson.

I’m sure Venice boss Alberto Barbera must be incredibly disappointed by this turn of events. He will still have many starry films to choose from, and Deadline includes Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla” as being in contention for the Lido.

Some of the films that might also aim for Venice …

David Fincher’s “The Killer,” Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon,” Steve McQueen’s “Blitz,” Hayao Miyazaki’s “How Do You Live,” Michael Mann’s “Ferrari,” Roman Polanski’s “The Palace,” Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro,” Luca Guadagnino’s “Challengers,” Duke Johnson’s “The Actor,” Pablo Larrain’s “El Condo,” Takeshita Kitano’s “Untitled,” Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist,” Luc Besson’s “Dogman,” Carlos Reygadas’ “Wake of Umbra” Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla” and Andrew Haigh’s “Strangers”