In 1984, director David Lynch’s Dune attempted to bring the entirety of Frank Herbert’s original novel to the big screen in a single film. Four decades later, with Dune: Part One and Dune: Part Two, Denis Villeneuve has achieved the box office success that eluded Lynch. Narratively, Villeneuve has reached the same point that Lynch did. The key difference is that Villeneuve will have a chance to continue the story on the big screen in Dune: Part Three, or Dune Messiah, as it’s sometimes referenced due to the novel it’s going to be based on.
Although the next sequel is still in a very early stage, it’s no secret that Dune 3 is on the horizon, and it’s something that Villeneuve has openly spoken about. Now it’s time to bring those threads together and share everything you need to know about Dune: Part Three.
Is Dune: Part Three officially going forward?
Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment are now developing a sequel to Dune: Part Two. Villeneuve stated that a script for the third film is currently “in the works” in an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival. A Deadline report from April 4 also stated Villeneuve and Legendary are developing Dune: Messiah as the “conclusion of the trilogy.”
Unofficially, Villeneuve has spoken about his plans to adapt Dune: Messiah, the second novel in Herbert’s series, but not as the final part of a trilogy.
“First, it’s important that people understand that for me, it was really a diptych,” Villeneuve said to Vanity Fair about his first two Dune films. “It was really a pair of movies that will be the adaptation of the first book. That’s done, and that’s finished. If I do a third one, which is in the writing process, it’s not like a trilogy. It’s strange to say that, but if I go back there, it’s to do something that feels different and has its own identity.”
During another interview with The Times, Villeneuve also stated that he is in no hurry to rush the film into theaters. “There is absolutely a desire to have a third one, but I don’t want to rush it,” said Villeneuve. “The danger in Hollywood is that people get excited and only think about release dates, not quality.”
Although there is a 12-year gap between the events of Dune and Dune: Messiah, it’s unlikely that Villeneuve will wait that long before getting started. When asked about how he will handle the time jump with the cast, he simply said, “That’s my problem. I know how to do that.”
Villeneuve has already signaled to composer Hans Zimmer that he wants him to start thinking about the musical themes for Dune: Part Three. “Denis comes in on the second day of shooting [Dune: Part Two], and wordlessly comes in and puts Dune: Messiah on my desk, and I know where we’re going, and I know we’re not done,” said Zimmer during an interview with Variety.
Will Dune: Part Three be Denis Villeneuve’s next film?
No. Villeneuve has indicated that he has a different film in mind for his next project, which would give him a break between the second movie and the concluding chapter of his trilogy. In a profile in The Hollywood Reporter, Villeneuve said that he is currently working on four projects, including a Dune sequel.
“I currently have four projects on the table,” related Villeneuve. “One of them is a secret project that I cannot talk about right now but that needs to see the light of day quite quickly. So it would be a good idea to do something in between projects before tackling Dune Messiah and Cleopatra. All these projects are still being written, so we’ll see where they go, but I have no control over that.”
While his next movie is still up in the air, Villeneuve found a future project after his time in the Dune universe. According to Deadline, Legendary has optioned Annie Jacobsen’s nonfiction book Nuclear War: A Scenario as a “potential reteam” with Villeneuve. The report states Villeneuve would likely work on Nuclear War: A Scenario after completing Dune: Messiah.
Denis Villeneuve is writing the Dune 3 script and wants to film sooner than originally planned
EXCLUSIVE: BREAKING BAZ: Denis Villeneuve says that his “break” is over and that he will ”go back behind the camera faster than I think” to film the third instalment of his “deep” immersion into Frank Herbert’s 'Dune' universe.
“I’m in the writing zone right now,” the filmmaker… pic.twitter.com/JkbAY0Qtef
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) October 18, 2024
During the press tour for Dune: Part Two, Villeneuve shared a desire to take a break from the Dune universe and film something else before returning to Dune: Messiah. However, those plans may have changed. While speaking with Deadline in October 2024, Villeneuve is writing Dune: Messiah despite going on a break. If Villeneuve continues working on the script, he expects to film the third Dune movie sooner than originally planned.
“Let’s say that I thought that after Part Two that I will take a break, that I will go back in the woods and stay in the woods for a while to recover,” Villeneuve said. “But the woods weren’t really suiting me, and I would go back behind the camera faster than I think. But that’s all I can say.”
What happens at the end of Dune: Part Two?
After killing Baron Harkonnen, Paul challenges Shaddam for the throne and declares his intentions to marry Princess Irulan. In a knife duel, Paul defeats the Emperor’s champion, Feyd-Rautha. After threatening to destroy the spice reserves with warheads, the Emperor bows to Paul and kisses his signet ring. Princess Irulan agrees to the marriage request, and Paul spares the Emperor’s life.
When the Great Houses refuse to acknowledge Paul as Emperor, he orders the Fremen troops to attack them, igniting the Muad’Dib’s holy war at the end of Dune: Part Two. While Fremen troops board ships, Chani refuses to acknowledge Paul as Emperor and waits to ride a sandworm into the desert.
Which cast members are coming back for Dune: Part Three?
Since the third film has yet to be officially announced, there’s no indication that the studio has locked down its stars for another movie. From a narrative standpoint, and barring any major recastings, Dune: Part Three would need to bring back Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken, and Javier Bardem.
Additionally, since Villeneuve went out of his way to secretly cast Anya Taylor-Joy in a surprise role in Part Two, it stands to reason that she would also come back for the sequel.
When will Dune: Messiah be released?
As noted above, Villeneuve does not want to rush the sequel to meet an arbitrary release date. Since Screen Rant reports that Warner Bros. has Villeneuve’s next film scheduled for release on December 18, 2026, it would theoretically take another two to three years to put Dune: Part Three together.
There was an interesting nugget in a Hollywood Reporter story about Tom Holland accepting a role in Christopher Nolan’s next movie. The article mentioned how Holland will shoot Nolan’s movie at the beginning of 2025 before filming Spider-Man 4 next summer. Zendaya, Holland’s Spider-Man co-star and girlfriend, is expected to be in Spider-Man 4 because Dune 3’s shoot date moved to 2026. Per THR, “Spider-Man 4 was delayed enough that Holland’s co-star Zendaya will now be shooting Dune 3 in early 2026 rather than next year.”
In an interview with Deadline, Villeneuve was asked if Dune 3 would shoot in late 2025 or early 2026. Villeneuve murmured, “2026.”
Will there be a Dune: Part Four?
Assuming Dune: Part Three is also a success years from now, there could very well be an adaptation of Herbert’s third novel of the series, Children of Dune, which takes place several years after Dune: Messiah.
This third novel follows Paul’s twin siblings, Leto and Ghanima Atreides, who are raised to become the next rulers of the Atreides Empire, but are threatened by Paul’s sister, Alia, as she has become corrupted by the genetic memory of her evil grandfather, Baron Harkonnen. The twins and Alia also face two rebellions, one by House Corrino and the other by Fremen led by Paul, who goes by “The Preacher” since his disappearance into the desert. This story ultimately sees Leto using the powers inherited from his father to become the God Emperor of the Known Universe and follow the “Golden Path” that the latter couldn’t follow.
However, Villeneuve has shown little interest in remaining with the franchise to adapt the third book. If he decides to leave and the franchise is set to continue, another filmmaker would have to be chosen to bring that story to life.
“Listen, if Dune: Messiah happens, it will have been many years for me on Arrakis, and I would love to do something else,” said Villeneuve. “I think that it would be a good idea for me to make sure that, in Messiah, there are the seeds in the project if someone wants to do something else afterwards, because they are beautiful books. They are more difficult to adapt. They become more and more esoteric. It’s a bit more tricky to adapt, but I’m not closing the door. I will not do it myself, but it could happen with someone else.”
Is there a Dune spinoff series coming to Max?
Dune: Prophecy premieres November 17 on HBO and Max.
How many Dune novels are there?
Frank Herbert wrote six Dune novels before his death in 1986. In 1999, Herbert’s son, Brian Herbert, and novelist Kevin J. Anderson revived the Dune universe with the first of 17 novels to date that have explored the events that took place thousands of years before the first book, as well as stories that serve as sequels to Herbert’s primary narrative. In short, there’s plenty of Dune material for future movies, TV shows, video games, and beyond.