The highly awaited sequel Dune: Part II has finally started filming, and Warner Bros. has revealed the locations. For the sequel, Denis Villeneuve will take the helm once more. Filming will take place in Budapest, Abu Dhabi, Jordan, and Italy. The first three sites were used to shoot the first movie, but Italy is a new location for the series, thus the sequel might take place in a completely different environment as Collider reported.
Greig Fraser, the film’s second collaborator with Villeneuve, is also returning to shoot the picture according to Mime. The recently inherited planet of the Atreides, Arrakis, in the original Dune was represented by the Wadi Rum in Jordan. Budapest served as the backdrop for several significant action sequences in the first movie, including the Arrakeen invasion scene. Filming for the Fremen’s home deserts took place in Abu Dhabi.
Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgrd, Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling, and Stephen McKinley Henderson are among the cast members who are returning. Along with Walken and Pugh, the picture also introduces Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha, Léa Seydoux as Lady Margot, and Souheila Yacoub as Shishakli.
Despite the fact that the tale clearly takes place in a cosmos with influences from the MENA region and even has a few Arabic words here and there, the first Dune movie has drawn criticism in the region for the lack of Arab actors playing the characters. Part II doesn’t seem to have addressed the issue, and that seems like a lost chance according to Mime.
While Dune is not the only movie to be filmed in the Middle East, several films have been set in the region because of the spectacular and breathtaking scenery there.