Up until early March, the film industry was running business as usual. Then the pandemic threw the biggest of wrenches into the works, resulting in not only numerous productions being shut down, but theaters being closed as well, which further led to a lot of movies either being postponed or shifting to VOD/streaming release. Nevertheless, there are still movies scheduled to come out later this year, including Dune, and evidently star Timothee Chalamet is already being considered as a strong contender for next year’s Academy Awards.
For now, Dune is sticking to its December release, and according to Gold Derby, Timothee Chalamet, who’s playing lead protagonist Paul Atreides, 37% of people who voted in a poll on the website felt he’s most deserving of a win at the 2021 Oscars. Benedict Cumberbatch came in second place with 19%, followed by Matt Damon at third with 11%, ahead of many others.
Timothy Chalamet is certainly no stranger to Oscars buzz, having been nominated for the Best Actor trophy for his performance as Elio Perlman in 2017’s Call Me By Your Name. Gary Oldman ended up winning that year for playing Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, but considering Chalamet’s performing talents, there’s a good chance he’ll earn another Oscar nomination down the line, and evidently a fair amount of folks think Dune could be the movie to earn him such recognition again.
Of course, in order for Timothee Chalamet to be a contender at the 2021 Academy Awards, Dune will either need to stay in its December slot or come out by February 28, 2021. Because of the health crisis, the 93rd Academy Awards has extended the eligibility period for movies, and the ceremony itself will be held on April 25, 2021. Still, with so much uncertainty in the air, it’s entirely possible that Dune will end up being delayed to later into 2021, meaning any Oscars consideration it may earn will be for the 2022 ceremony.
Like the original Dune novel penned by Frank Herbert, this latest Dune movie is set in the far future and follows Paul Atreides and his mother, Rebecca Ferguson’s Lady Jessica, fleeing to the surface of Arrakis and allying themselves with the Fremen after their family is betrayed and control of this desert planet’s mining operations is seized from them. The movie’s ensemble cast also includes Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Javier Bardem, Zendaya and Jason Momoa.
Rather than adapt Dune into one movie like David Lynch did in the ‘80s, filmmaker Denis Villeneuve is splitting the tale into two movies, and while a sequel hasn’t been given the official green light just yet, writer Jon Spaihts is working on the script. There is also a prequel series in development for HBO Max called Dune: The Sisterhood.
Dune is still lined up for December 18, so keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates. You can learn what other movies are supposed to drop later this year in our 2020 release schedule.
