Denis Villeneuve has offered an update on Dune 3, suggesting that the final film in the trilogy may arrive sooner than previously thought – and he could start work on it in 2026.
The director told Deadline that his “break” is over and he’ll be returning to film the third instalment of Dune sooner than he expected.
“I’m in the writing zone right now,” he said about Dune 3, or Dune: Messiah, while he also said he’ll “go back behind the camera faster than I think.”
He said, “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. 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.”
Villeneuve was wary to call the movie Dune: Part Three as the first two movies are “for me like one entity. It’s a movie made in two parts. It’s finished, it’s done.”
He said that he could have stopped at Dune: Part Two but, “Like [Dune author Frank] Herbert did with Dune: Messiah, I think it’ll be a great idea to do something completely different. The story takes place like 12 years after where we left the characters at the end of Part Two. Their journey, their story is different this time, and that’s why I always say that while it’s the same world it’s a new film with new circumstances.”
He revealed, too, that the new movie will “finish the Paul Atreides arc”, while it will also end Villeneuve’s involvement with Dune – despite Herbert writing another four sequels after Dune: Messiah.
He revealed that among the actors returning for the next Dune movie are Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, and Anya Taylor-Joy. “They have to return,” he explained, “They are with the main cast when it happens. And more worms. What can I say?”
Meanwhile, the first full trailer for HBO Max’s upcoming prequel series Dune: Prophecy has been shared. It’s set to premiere on the streaming platform on November 17 and will consist of six episodes that will be released each Sunday on a weekly basis. Watch it here:
Dune: Part Two was released earlier this year, and NME gave it a four-star review, writing: “If there’s an issue with Dune: Part Two, it’s only that the ending feels a little rushed, considering the near six-hour build-up over the past two movies. At any rate, the door is left wide open for a third instalment, and Villeneuve has already indicated his willingness to continue with an adaptation of Herbert’s sequel: Dune Messiah, should Part Two rake in enough spicy space cash, so there may well be more to come. In the meantime, make sure you see this on the biggest, loudest screen you can find.”
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