Dune Still Coming to HBO Max Despite Reports Otherwise - IGN - IGN

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The newly announced WarnerMedia-Discovery merger will certainly lead to some changes for Warner Bros., but it seems some plans will remain the same. Despite reports from Deadline indicating otherwise, the studio is still planning to release its upcoming adaptation of Dune simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max.The reversal of Dune's day-and-date strategy was reported as part of a deal that Warner Bros. had reached with Regal Cinemas to test a return to restoring the 45-day theatrical window before new releases go to streaming. Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve's new sci-fi epic has also been tipped to launch at the Venice Film Festival in September, ahead of an October theatrical release before heading to HBO Max at a later date.However, WarnerMedia's head of communications Johanna Fuentes quickly took to Twitter to shoot down the reports.

"Dune will premiere in theaters and on HBO Max on the same day in the US," Fuentes wrote.

#Dune will premiere in theaters and on HBO Max on the same day in the US. (Source: Warner Bros.) https://t.co/SiFpbz0nK2

— Johanna Fuentes (@jfuentes) May 17, 2021

The correction come off the heels of news that AT&T is divesting its entertainment assets in a $43 billion deal that will merge WarnerMedia and Discovery. It is speculated that WarnerMedia's new leadership under Discovery CEO David Zaslav will be more talent-friendly, which may have led credence to the idea that Dune would return to having an exclusive theatrical run.

Dune is only one movie included in Warner Bros. ongoing plan to simultaneously release its 2021 slate of theatrically-released movies on HBO Max for a one-month exclusive window. The approach began with December's release of Wonder Woman 1984 and has continued with releases such as Judas and the Black Messiah, Godzilla vs. Kong, and Mortal Kombat. While Warner Bros. theatrical releases will have an exclusivity window of 45 days at U.S. Regal theaters beginning in 2022, Dune will not be included as part of that deal.

After it was announced, the unprecedented theatrical-streaming release hybrid drew ire across the entertainment industry, including from Villeneuve. The Dune director spoke out against the model last December, saying that "AT&T hijacked one of the most respectable and important studios in film history" and the decision was "all about the survival of a telecom mammoth." Despite AT&T now largely being out of the equation, it seems that plans for the simultaneous HBO Max debut are holding steady.

For more about how WarnerMedia and Discovery's merger could impact things on a consumer level, read our rundown on what we know so far.

J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.

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Dune Still Coming to HBO Max Despite Reports Otherwise - IGN - IGN
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