Denis Villeneuve confirms that Dune sequel will film this summer

Denis Villeneuve has confirmed that 'Dune: Part Two' will film by the "end of summer".

The sequel to the filmmaker's sci-fi epic will be released in 2023, with stars Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson and Zendaya all reprising their roles, and says his experience on the first film has helped during the making of the movie.

Denis told Empire magazine: "I will say it is mostly designed. The thing that helps us right now is that it's the first time I've revisited a universe. So I'm working with the same crew, everybody knows what to do, we know what it will look like.

"The movie will be more challenging, but we know where we are stepping. And the screenplay is written. So I feel confident. Frankly, the only big unknown for me right now is the pandemic."

'Dune' has earned 10 Oscar nominations but some fans were disgruntled by the lack of focus on the villainous Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard), which Denis claims was a result of adapting Frank Herbert's novel across two films.

The 54-year-old director said: "When you adapt, you have to make bold choices in order for the things to come to life. In the second one, I want to have more flexibility, and it will be possible to go a little bit deeper into some of these details."

Denis continued: "It's like a chess game. Some new characters will be introduced in the second part and a decision I made very early on was that this first part would be more about Paul Atreides and the Bene Gesserit, and his experience of being in contact for the first time with a different culture.

"Second part, there will be much more Harkonnen stuff."