Dune has been delayed. The movie adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal 1965 novel of the same name has been widely anticipated and was set for a Dec 18, 2021 release. That was never meant to be as Collider now reports that Dune‘s release date has been delayed to October 2021. Dune will now release on Oct 1, 2021.

Denis Villeneuve had previously maintained that Dune would stick to its intended release date. That however, was several months ago. The world order has changed dramatically since then, with even the US President now infected. Which means plans have changed and Dune has been pushed back by a whole year.

Both studios Legendary and Warner Bros. agreed with Villeneuve that Dune is best suited for the big screen. Dune is also a notoriously risky property to adapt and a costly one too, making its financial success all the more important. This officially pulls the last major blockbuster out of the year and while Wonder Woman 1984 is still slated for a December 2020 release, I strongly doubt that will stick.

Dune features an ensemble cast that stars Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa and Javier Bardem.