“Dune: Part Two,” the long-awaited sequel to Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic “Dune” from 2021, has been delayed, Warner Bros. announced on Thursday.
The film, starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, was originally slated for release on November 3rd of this year.
In an email to CNN on Thursday, the studio confirmed the sequel was being pushed “due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.” (Warner Bros. and CNN are both a part of Warner Bros. Discovery.)
Actors in that union, the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, have been on strike since July after negotiations with the studios and streaming platforms around a new contract failed.
Sticking points in those negotiations include residual payments, transparency with viewership data on streaming platforms, and updated protections against the advent of artificial intelligence within the industry.
The actors’ strike came as writers in Hollywood had already been on strike since May around similar issues, effectively bringing production activity in Hollywood to a grinding halt.
Both entities currently remain on strike, with negotiations moving along slowly with the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers).
Warner Bros. confirmed this week that while “Dune: Part Two” has been pushed, the studio’s other major upcoming releases – “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” “Wonka” and “The Color Purple” – are all still slated to be released later this year, in December.
