Denis Villeneuve Won’t Make DUNE 4 But Teases Third Movie
By Movieguide® Contributor
As the press tour for DUNE: PART TWO begins, director Denis Villeneuve shares his hope for a third movie but says the franchise – under his direction – will stop there.
“DUNE MESSIAH should be the last DUNE movie for me,” Villeneuve told Time.
While Frank Herbert wrote six total Dune novels, Villeneuve is disappointed by the direction the author took the series after the second book, Dune Messiah.
Though Warner Bros. has yet to greenlight a third movie, Villeneuve has started work on the final movie of the trilogy in anticipation. However, there would likely be a sizable gap between the second and third movies, even once it is greenlit, to give the director a break.
DUNE and DUNE: PART TWO were filmed back-to-back and were originally slated to release with only two years between them. However, the timeline was disrupted by the actors’ strike. Furthermore, the director spent six years working on the first two movies before production began.
“I don’t know exactly when I will go back to Arrakis,” Villeneuve said last December. “I might make a detour before just to go away from the sun. For my mental health sanity I might do something in between.”
Regardless of when he returns, Villeneuve will be met with an eager cast excited to work on the final movie. Zendaya, who stars as Chani, recently revealed she would join a third project given the chance.
“Would we be down? I mean of course. Anytime Denis calls it’s a yes from me, at least. I’m excited to see what happens,” Zendaya told The Hollywood Reporter.
“The idea excites me very much,” added Timotheé Chalamet, who plays Paul Atreides. “If the time and opportunity comes to complete the story with MESSIAH, I think we’re all super enthusiastic about that.”
Until then, fans can look forward to DUNE: PART TWO which hits theaters March 1.
Movieguide® previously reported:
In a recent interview with Empire, DUNE director Denis Villeneuve shared his hopes for a third movie to tap off a Dune trilogy.
“If I succeed in making a trilogy, that would be the dream,” Villeneuve told Empire.
While Villeneuve originally planned to create a double feature telling the story of Frank Herbert’s 1965 classic novel, he now feels he could share more of the story. Herbert wrote five sequels to the original “Dune,” fleshing out the world of Arrakis.
Villeneuve’s dream for his third and final movie is to bring Herbert’s second book, “Dune Messiah,” to movie audiences.
“‘Dune Messiah’ was written in reaction to the fact that people perceived Paul Atreides as a hero,” Villeneuve said. “Which is not what he wanted to do. My adaptation [of “Dune”] is closer to his idea that it’s actually a warning.”
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