
DUNE 3 Is On the Horizon
By Movieguide® Contributor
Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve says fan response led to his decision to start production on DUNE 3 earlier than expected.
“I was expecting to do something else before [doing DUNE 3], but frankly, that’s the inspiration that came to my mind as I took a break this summer and was going back and finishing the story,” he told Collider.
Villeneuve said he was “really moved” by the way audiences and critics responded to DUNE: PART TWO, which has been nominated for a Movieguide® Teddy Bear Award®.
“I felt an appetite and a desire to see more and a responsibility to finish that story,” he added.
READ MORE: DUNE 3 GETS RELEASE DATE, AND IT’S SOONER THAN EXPECTED
In a 2024 interview with Deadline, Villeneuve said he was “in the writing zone” and “will finish the Paul Atreides arc” with the third movie.
“I think it’ll be a great idea to do something completely different,” he said. “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.”
READ MORE: ZENDAYA EXCITED FOR POSSIBLE DUNE 3: ‘A YES FROM ME’
Villeneuve has previously revealed that the third DUNE movie, titled DUNE: MESSIAH, will be his last for the franchise.
“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,” the director said in an episode of the LITTLE GOLD MEN podcast. “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.”
DUNE: MESSIAH’s production is tentatively planned to start some time in 2026.