'Dune's World Premiere Confirmed as Part of the Venice Film Festival

The film will be shown almost a full month before its commercial release.

The rumored world premiere of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune at the 78th edition of the Venice Film Festival has been confirmed on Twitter by La Biennale di Venezia, the organization responsible for the event. By premiering at Venice, Dune will be screened for a select group of viewers almost one month before its commercial release.

Dune was initially set to have a hybrid release, hitting both theaters and HBO Max on the same day, just as with Godzilla vs. Kong and Mortal Kombat. However, with movie theaters reopening and vaccination spreading, WarnerMedia reportedly reversed the decision, making Dune an exclusive theatrical release. Since then, a Warner executive already claimed on Twitter Dune is indeed coming to HBO Max at the same time as theaters. As WarnerMedia is currently undergoing a merger with Discovery, things are a little confusing right now, and we’ll need to wait for an official statement regarding Dune’s release strategy. Lucky for us, the world premiere at Venice gives us another opportunity to catch the big-budget star-studded adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi novel.

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Dune’s cast includes Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Sharon Duncan Brewster, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, Chang Chen, David Dastmalchian, with Charlotte Rampling, with Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem. Villeneuve directs from a screenplay he wrote together with Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth.

The 78th Venice International Film Festival will be held from September 1 to 11. Dune will be shown on September 3 in the Sala Grande at the Palazzo del Cinema on the Lido di Venezia. Dune’s theatrical release is set for October 1. If Dune doesn’t release at HBO Max on the same day, it’ll come to the streaming platform 45 days later.

Check out the world premiere announcement below:

Here’s Dune’s official synopsis:

“A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides (Chalamet), a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.”

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