That’s sadly right. No Dune this year.

As the number of positive coronavirus cases in America surge, co-producers Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment were apparently forced to make a tough call, and push the release date of the much anticipated Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic Dune back to late 2021, Collider reports, over fears that Americans would be hesitant to return to theaters amidst the ongoing pandemic, despite an inside source that claims Warner Bros. was confident that the market could support multiple tentpole films during the winter months.

Originally scheduled to premiere on December 18, Dune may have been delayed so as to lend weight to the Christmas Day release of Warner Bros.’s Wonder Woman 1984, and will now release on the same day as Robert Pattinson’s delayed The Batman, on October 1st, 2021.