It has been rumored that Denis Vilenuve’s adaptation of Dune would premiere at the Venice Film Festival. This has been confirmed by La Biennale di Venezia (the lead organization of the event) on Twitter Thursday. This means that the premiere of the film will be almost a month before its scheduled release. 

Up until recently, Dune was set to follow Warner Bros.’s hybrid release plan, releasing on HBO Max and in theaters concurrently. However, now that theaters are reopening and vaccinations are widely available, this decision was reportedly reversed, making Dune’s release exclusively in theaters. 

Since this was reported, a Warner executive has stated on Twitter that the film will indeed still be a hybrid release. Since Warner Bros. is currently merging with Discovery, things are a little foggy at the moment as we wait for an official statement regarding Dune’s release. 

Dune’s stacked cast includes: Timothée Chalamet, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Sharon Duncan Brewster, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Chang Chen, David Dastmalchian, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem and  Jason Momoa. Denis Vilenuve is directing, and wrote the script alongside Eric Roth and Jon Spaihts, adapted from the classic 1965 novel by Frank Herbert. 

The 78th Venice Film Festival will be held from September 1 to 11. Dune will premiere on September 3. The film is scheduled for a theatrical and, for now, HBO Max release on October 1. 

Check out the offical announcement below:

#Dune (@dunemovie) by #DenisVilleneuve will have its #OutOfCompetition world premiere at the #BiennaleCinema2021 #Venezia78! The highly anticipated movie, which stars an acclaimed cast, will be shown on Friday 3 September in the Sala Grande. Read more → https://t.co/x1QxLizvDQ pic.twitter.com/TTnV2F3xwX

— La Biennale di Venezia (@la_Biennale) June 17, 2021