Numerous big blockbusters have been split into two parts since the success of Avengers: Infinity and Avengers: Endgame. In the early 2010s, two-part movies were something of a growing trend, particularly as finales for long-running franchises. This was seen in such popular movie series as the Harry Potter and Twilight films, but the trend seemingly petered out following the release of the Hunger Games' two-part finale, Mockingjay Part One and Part Two.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe would revive the idea of a two-part finale with the release of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the two movies serving as the end of the MCU's Infinity Saga. Since then, the idea of highly anticipated movies being divided into two parts has begun to see a visible resurgence, with two parters being used as both franchise finales or two series installments simply being filmed back-to-back. Here are five upcoming big movies that are being released in two parts.
5 Dune
Based on Frank Herbert's eponymous 1965 novel, Denis Villeneuve's Dune is the second big-screen adaptation of the seminal sci-fi classic following 1984's Dune film. Directed by David Lynch, the original 137-minute cut of Dune is significantly truncated from the movie initially intended by Lynch, with the director distancing himself from the film as a result (though a 186-minute version has been aired on television.) By contrast, Villeneuve's Dune is releasing in two parts, with the first half of Dune: Part One releasing in October 2021 and Dune: Part Two debuting in November 2023.
Given the extremely epic and expansive scope of Herbert's novel and of the Dune universe, the decision for Villenevue's Dune to be a two-parter is narratively beneficial to it. The original Dune saw a very mixed reception upon its 1984 release, with many feeling the story was attempting to cram too much material from such a large novel into slightly more than two hours. Dune: Part One and Dune: Part Two do not have to contend with that issue, with the former enjoying a highly positive reception and even earning Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.
4 Spider-Verse
Sony's Spider-Verse keeps getting bigger and bigger, and the animated Spider-Verse movies themselves are helping to accommodate that with serialized storytelling. 2018's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was a major hit, winning an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and virtually universal praise as one of the best Spider-Man movies ever made, or even the best. 2023's Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse continues the story with its heroic Web-Heads Miles Morales (Shamiek Moore) and Gwen Stacy (Haliee Steinfeld) uniting with the Spider-Society to defeat the dimension-hopping villain The Spot (Jason Schwartzman), but Sony's Spider-Verse is taking their adventures even further.
Across the Spider-Verse ends on a cliffhanger that sets up the movie's 2024 sequel Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, and with how large a multiverse it establishes, that is certainly the best approach. In introducing the Spider-Society, Across the Spider-Verse includes a multitude of various Wall-Crawlers in cameos and supporting roles (including a few live-action ones). With Across the Spider-Verse bringing just about every iteration of Spider-Man under its multiverse canon, dividing the story into two parts with Across the Spider-Verse and Beyond the Spider-Verse is the best way to cast the Spider-Verse's net (or rather web) as wide as possible.
3 Fast X
The Fast Saga might be one of the biggest anomalies in cinematic history. Beginning 2001's The Fast and the Furious (which took the Point Break template and swapped surfing for street racing), the Fast & Furious franchise was only modestly successful until 2011's Fast Five re-vamped the series into the action-movie juggernaut and box office powerhouse it would become. After running for over two decades, the Fast Saga is finally reaching its finale, but that finale will unfold over multiple installments, with 2023's Fast X being the first chapter of the Fast Saga's ending.
The plans for how the Fast & Furious franchise will conclude are not entirely clear, but they will involve Dwayne Johnson returning as Luke Hobbs in a Hobbs-centered spin-off that leads into Fast & Furious 11. That also may or may not be the franchise's actual ending, with Vin Diesel having said that the finale will consist of three parts, meaning that either the Hobbs spin-off or Fast & Furious 11 could be part two of three. In any case, with numerous Fast & Furious spin-offs also reportedly planned, the Fast & Furious universe will seemingly still keep going even after the mainline Fast Saga ends.
2 Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning
The Mission: Impossible franchise began as a '60s spy TV series, with Tom Cruise reviving it for the big screen with 1996's Mission: Impossible. While there have been rather sizable gaps between one Mission: Impossible movie to the next, it is nonetheless impressive how much the series has grown in popularity under a collection of acclaimed filmmakers, including Brian de Palma, John Woo, J.J. Abrams, Brad Bird and Christopher McQuarrie. The Mission: Impossible franchise is set to continue with the upcoming Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, with the seventh Mission: Impossible movie also explicitly carrying the subtitle of Part One.
With Dead Reckoning Part One debuting in theaters on July 12, 2023, Dead Reckoning Part Two will continue the story upon its release on June 28, 2024. Both parts of Dead Reckoning were filmed back-to-back, a popular time and cost-saving measure for major franchises to plan out multiple entries in advance. With Tom Cruise's penchant for awe-inspiring stunts and action and the progressively rising intensity of both in the Mission: Impossible franchise, Dead Reckoning being a two-parter ensures a double whammy of both in the franchise's seventh and eighth chapters.
1 Wicked
One of the most famous villainesses in cinema history, the Wicked Witch of the West, once terrified Dorothy and her little dog Toto on their trip to the merry old land of Oz in The Wizard of Oz. The Wicked Witch's backstory is not explored in any depth in the film, but Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman's 2003 stage musical Wicked seeks to change that with the story of the play focused upon the origin of the Wicked Witch and many other witches as well. Wicked is also being adapted for cinema screens under the direction of John M. Chu, and it too will also get the two-part treatment.
Wicked Part One is set to hit theaters on November 27, 2024, with Wicked Part Two to follow in December 2025. Cynthia Erivo will portray Elphaba Thropp, who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West, with Ariana Grande playing Galinda Upland, who becomes the Good Witch of the North, Glinda. With such a history of witches of both the good and the bad variety unexplored, Wicked is another big-screen tale that will likely benefit from having its story told in two parts.