You know the old saying: one Dune simply isn’t enough, Two Dunes is a crowd, and Three Dunes is a party. It’s in all of the high school textbooks!
Even though director Denis Villeneuve is still riding high on those sandworms of success of Dune: Part 2, he’s already got his eyes on the third installment, which has not even been announced yet.
Villeneuve has been “unofficially” moving forward with his idea for the threequel. “Dune Messiah – which, Dune 3, the title would be Dune Messiah – we’ll see the day when the screenplay will be ready and I want to make sure that there will be no compromise,” he told Comic Book. “It has to be tremendous. All is there to make the fantastic film, and I don’t want to mess it up.” There is still time for him to mess it up, but here is everything we know so far about the potential sequel. Hopefully, you saved that suggestive popcorn bucket. Or….not.
Cast
One of the biggest surprises with Dune: Part Two was Anya Taylor-Joy showing up as an older version of Paul’s sister Alia. Villeneuve himself was surprised that the secret was kept. “I was deeply happy with the fact that Anya accepted this challenge of playing a ghost and a secret,” he told EW. “I cannot believe that we kept the secret that long. It required so much work to keep that secret. Everybody signed with their blood.”
While Taylor-Joy has not been confirmed for the threequel, the director hopes to expand on Alia’s storyline, which would give her a larger part. “I love her [Taylor-Joy],” Villeneuve said, adding that he would also like Florence Pugh to return. “I would love to make Dune Messiah just to work with her and Florence more. Those actresses are so inspiring. They give me chills and the will to do another one.”
Of course, we couldn’t have Dune without Paul, so it’s likely that Timothee Chalamet would return as Paul. While Paul’s mother, played by Rebecca Ferguson, does not appear in Dune Messiah, she could show up in Villeneuve’s adaptation.
Plot
The plot would follow the second novel in the series, Dune Messiah, which was published in 1969 and takes place 12 years after the events of the first book. Messiah follows Paul dealing with his unintended heroism and internal struggles after being named the “messiah” for the Freeman and marrying Princess Irulan.
“If I succeed in making a trilogy, that would be the dream,” Villeneuve has said. “Dune Messiah was written in reaction to the fact that people perceived Paul Atreides as a hero. Which is not what he wanted to do. My adaptation is closer to his idea that it’s actually a warning.”
Release Date
It will likely be a while until we head back to the sand. Villeneuve has said that he wants to take his time when it comes to the next film “I want to take the time to do it. And I think it would be healthy that I don’t go back necessarily in the desert right away, that I make a little detour, maybe,” he told Collider. “But honestly, I don’t know what my future is right now, which I love because I worked the past six years nonstop. It’s a blessing, but I need that. It would be nice to make sure that if we do Dune: Messiah, I want to make the best movie ever, so I want to just take my time.”
The first film took place over four months, but was delayed by COVID. The second film took roughly five months, though that release was also delayed due to the Hollywood Labor disputes. It could definitely be years until we see that sand again.
Trailer
Obviously, there is no trailer just yet. Instead, you can watch Timothee Chalamet’s long-lost audition:
