'Dune 2' postponed to March 15

Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Warner Bros. announced Thursday that Dune: Part Two would be postponed until 2024. The official social media account now lists the release date as March 15.

Dune: Part Two was previously scheduled for release Nov. 3, two years following the release of the first part. The two-part movie adapts Frank Herbert's sci-fi novel.

In an interview for her Apple TV+ series Silo, Dune star Rebecca Ferguson told UPI that filming Part Two felt like filming of the first film never stopped. Ferguson also said, "What was fun is there are so many more characters involved."

According to Variety, the postponement also bumps Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire to April 12. Godzilla x Kong was originally scheduled for March 15.

Dune stars Timothee Chalamet as Paul Atreides, the heir to Atreides monarchy in the future. Ferguson plays his mother, Lady Jessica.

Dune: Part One ends with Paul and Jessica on the planet Arrakis. They've just met Fremen natives Chani (Zendaya) and Stilgar (Javier Bardem) as the story will continue.

Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, Léa Seydoux, Christopher Walken and Souheila Yacoub join the cast of Dune: Part Two. The cast of Dune remains on strike as members of SAG-AFTRA.

Denis Villeneuve wrote with John Spaihts and directed both parts.