After 'appetizer' first film, Denis Villeneuve's 'Dune' sequel gets green light for 2023 release

The Spice is ready to flow again.

After a successful bow in theaters and on HBO Max this past weekend, Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi epic "Dune" is officially getting a sequel. On Tuesday, production company Legendary Entertainment announced the news of a "Part Two," slated to open exclusively in theaters Oct. 20, 2023.

“This is only the beginning,” Villeneuve said in a statement.

"Dune" stars Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, a young man whose family is put in charge of the mining of a precious resource – the mind-altering Spice, which also is the key to interstellar travel – on the desert planet Arrakis. Paul survives a vicious attack from rival House Harkonnen and allies himself with the Fremen, a people indigenous to Arrakis, and Chani (Zendaya), a Fremen woman Paul's had visions of in his dreams.

Review: Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi epic is a mixed bag of eye-popping sci-fi, lackluster story

Still have questions after watching 'Dune'? All your burning questions, answered

Villenueve's "Dune" adapts the first half of author Frank Herbert's influential sci-fi classic, while "Part Two" will continue the story. Unlike some other big-budget franchises, both films were not made at the same time and Warner Bros. and Legendary took a wait-and-see approach to greenlighting a sequel.

Villeneueve was "at peace with this idea" and knew it was a "gamble," the director told USA TODAY prior to the film's release. "I put all my love and my passion into this project."

He knows "exactly what to do for 'Part Two.' It's all already in my mind," Villeneueve said, adding that comparatively, the first movie "will look like an appetizer."

'I hope I won't have to use it': Timothée Chalamet learned this new skill from 'Dune'

Team Old Spice: David Lynch's 1984 'Dune' is more entertaining than the new sci-fi epic

"Dune" had a $40.1 million opening weekend at the box office, even with audiences being able to also stream it at home, and so far the epic's made more than $223 million worldwide.

"I know everybody is super hopeful and jazzed on the possibility (of a sequel)," Chalamet told USA TODAY. "I remember watching films growing up and already clamoring for more." Until now, he added, "I've never had that feeling about something I'm in."

Contributing: Bryan Alexander and Patrick Ryan

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Dune': Denis Villeneuve's sequel set for 2023 with Zendaya, Chalamet