No Timothée Chalamet, no Zendaya — no way.
Without its stars to promote its highly anticipated sequel, Warner Bros. announced it has decided to moveDenis Villeneuve’s“Dune” Part Two” from Nov. 3 to March 15 in the latest example of Hollywood’s strikes jumbling the release calendar.
It is the second movie starring Zendaya,the Oakland native and Hollywood sensation, to move to 2024 after“Challengers.”The tennis-themed love triangle, co-starring Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist, was supposed to come out in September but was pushed back last month.
“Dune,”Villeneuve’s adaptation of the first half of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel, took in more than $400 million worldwide at a pandemic-affected box office. “Part Two” brings back Chalamet as Paul Atreides, a nobleman whose family is caught up in a galactic war, and Zendaya as Chani, a rebel fighter.
The film also stars Florence Pugh (“Oppenheimer”), Rebecca Ferguson (“Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One”), Dave Bautista (“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”), Austin Butler (“Elvis”), Léa Seydoux, Christopher Walken and Javier Bardem (“The Little Mermaid”).
The decision to move “Dune: Part Two” undoubtedly will stall the momentum of Warner Bros., which is riding the success ofGreta Gerwig’s “芭比娃娃”,最大的票房大片the year. The studio has two more anticipated films — “The Color Purple” and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” — on the calendar for December, and so far is keeping those dates.
Reach G. Allen Johnson: ajohnson@sfchronicle.com