Dune 3 has finally received a confirmed release date, but fans will have to endure a long wait before returning to Arrakis for the third installment of the saga.
In late June 2024, Warner Bros announced that a previously untitled “event film” scheduled for December 2026 would now be an “untitled Denis Villeneuve film.” By late July 2024, an IMAX presentation confirmed that this film was indeed a Dune movie.
Following the enormous box-office success of Dune: Part Two, which is now streaming on Max in the US, Legendary production company confirmed that Denis Villeneuve would return for a third movie. Villeneuve, who had hinted at this since the first film, will complete his Dune trilogy by adapting Frank Herbert’s sequel, Dune Messiah.
After the announcement in April 2024, Villeneuve provided an update on the progress of the threequel to The New York Times: “I don’t want to reveal what I’m going to do with the third movie. I know exactly what to do. I’m writing it right now.”
As we prepare for the long wait until the third movie’s release, possibly in December 2026, here’s everything you need to know about Dune 3.
Dune 3 release date: When can we expect Dune Part 3 in cinemas?
Dune 3 now has a confirmed release date of December 18, 2026.
As mentioned earlier, in June 2024, Warner Bros scheduled an “untitled Denis Villeneuve film” for December 2026. Then, an IMAX presentation in July 2024 confirmed that this film would be an untitled Dune movie.
It was also reported in June 2024 that Villeneuve is still working on the script, and the cast has yet to be finalized. While this could mean a delay, the release date is far enough away to hope that everything stays on track.
While we have to wait two years for the third movie, there is another new installment of Dune arriving later this year in the form of the prequel series Dune: Prophecy.
The series, set around 10,000 years before the movies, focuses on the origins of the Bene Gesserit and two sisters, Valya and Tula Harkonnen.
It is set to premiere in November 2024 on Max in the US and Sky in the UK, but we are still awaiting a specific release date.
Dune 3 cast: Will Zendaya be in Dune 3?
It’s understandable to worry that the ending of Dune 2 might mean Zendaya won’t reprise her role as Chani, but it would be surprising if she didn’t return since Chani plays a significant role in Dune Messiah.
While the official cast has yet to be announced, we can already assume several returns for Dune 3 based on the novel:
- Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides
- Zendaya as Chani
- Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan
- Charlotte Rampling as Gaius Helen Mohiam
- Javier Bardem as Stilgar
- Anya Taylor-Joy as Alia Atreides
There shouldn’t be any issues bringing Chalamet back for the third movie, as the actor signed a significant deal with Warner Bros on March 26, 2024.
As part of the multi-year feature film deal, he is allowed to work with other studios, but Warner Bros gets first rights to any of his projects.
Florence Pugh didn’t have a significant role in the sequel, but Villeneuve has already confirmed that Princess Irulan will play a more prominent part in the third movie:
“I introduced Chani in Dune and then she becomes one of the main characters in Part Two. I do the same with Florence; I just introduced her in Part Two, and if there’s a Dune Messiah, she becomes one of the main characters.”
Villeneuve is also eager to see more of Taylor-Joy and Pugh in the next movie. “I would love to make Dune Messiah just to work with her and Florence more,” he told EW. “Those actresses are so inspiring. They give me chills and the will to do another one.”
Now that we know there will be a third movie, expect to see much more of Pugh and Taylor-Joy next time around. The latter has already essentially confirmed her return for the third film.
Will Jason Momoa be in Dune 3?
Even though Jason Momoa’s Duncan Idaho was killed off in the first movie, readers of the Dune series know that wasn’t the end of his story.
In Dune Messiah, Duncan Idaho is resurrected as a ghola, an artificially created human, as a gift to Paul. However, this gift comes with a dangerous secret, which we won’t reveal here.
It hasn’t been officially confirmed that Dune 3 will bring back Duncan Idaho in this way, but if it does, it would undoubtedly be Momoa reprising the role.
Momoa has expressed enthusiasm for returning to the role if Villeneuve decides to bring Duncan Idaho back.
Dune 3 plot: What happens in Dune Messiah?
As with the first two movies, Villeneuve remained relatively faithful to Herbert’s novel in Dune: Part Two, though there were some significant changes.
For instance, Chani and Paul are separated at the movie’s end, with her riding off into the desert when Paul starts a holy war. Additionally, Paul’s sister Alia is not yet born at the end of the second movie, whereas, in the book, she has already killed the Baron by this point.
These changes will likely require some adaptation in bringing Dune Messiah to the screen, but we can still expect it to stay largely true to Herbert’s narrative.
Dune Messiah takes place 12 years after the events of the first novel and depicts Paul grappling with the realization that his victory over the Harkonnens has led to widespread devastation across the universe, with billions dead due to the holy war.
The novel follows Paul as he attempts to end the fighting while facing new enemies and betrayals from former allies, ultimately leading him to make a decision that could alter the future of the entire universe.
Herbert wrote Dune Messiah as a response to people viewing Paul as a hero at the end of Dune, which was never his intention.
Villeneuve’s take on Dune has already highlighted this aspect, especially in the climax of Dune 2, potentially giving him more flexibility when it comes to adapting the story of Dune Messiah for the third movie.
As Zendaya hinted to Digital Spy, don’t expect a happy ending for Paul and Chani’s story.
“It just becomes a massive distraction and confusion and point of contention for her. So yeah, I think it’s far more than a love interest, so much as a complicated relationship that love gets in the way of,” she explained.
“And how are these two characters going to reconcile with that? I don’t know how they get over it. I don’t know what their future holds. Without giving it away, it ain’t pretty.”
