Denis Villeneuve's Dune is getting ready to head back to additional photography, but don't worry. It sounds like the highly-anticipated, star-studded adaptation of Frank Herbert's beloved sci-fi novel is still on track to hit its December release date. Well, as much as anything, anywhere can be on track, at all, in these times.

But for now, Hollywood's filmmakers and distributors are looking to get back to work as safely as possible and as soon as they can, and that ambition includes plans for reshoots on Dune, according to star Oscar Isaac. Speaking with Deadline, Isaac said, “We’re going to do some additional shooting in mid-August… they’re saying in Budapest in Hungary.”

However, the last-minute return to set is no cause for concern, neither in terms of quality nor release plans. Per the Deadline's report, Dune is still expected to hit theaters on December 18, 2020 and as they wisely note, "shooting additional footage is pretty much par for the course and isn’t an indication of anything problematic with the existing material, which we hear is sizing up to be epic."

Isaac echoed those sentiments, saying, “I saw some things cut together and it just looks amazing. Denis [Villeneuve] is a real artist and it will be exciting to see it come together. It’s kind of wild that we’re doing some additional shooting a few months before it’s supposed to come out, but that happened with Star Wars as well.”

Indeed, additional photography is par for the course and while the scheduling is last-minute, that's obviously due to the ongoing international pandemic, which has forced film productions to pivot and adapt as studios and distributors around the world try to figure out how to re-open their businesses. And as Isaac noted, sometimes it happens even without a pandemic!

As for the Dune production, the epic and otherworldly sci-fi picture previously shot in Jordan and Norway, as well as Origo Film Studios in Hungary, where they're expected to return for the additional production. Hungary began easing emergency measures earlier this week and are expected to be one of the next European nations to resume film production. Deadline notes that the Dune set will resume with extensive health and safety measures in place. Dune also stars Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin.

For more on Dune, check out what cinematographer Greig Fraser told us about working on the epic picture with Villeneuve.