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By Gavin Boyle
As production begins on the third DUNE movie, its creators just revealed its official title, DUNE: PART THREE.
“It’s very important that people understand that for me, it was really a diptych. It was really a pair of movies that will be the adaptation of the first book,” director Denis Villeneuve previously said about the first two movies in the series. “That’s done and that’s finished. If I do a third one, which is in the writing process, it’s not like a trilogy. It’s strange to say that, but if I go back there, it’s to do something that feels different and has its own identity.”
“Like [Frank] Herbert did with Dune: Messiah, I think it’ll be a great idea to do something completely different,” Villeneuve later added when discussing the third movie. “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.”
While many fans are surprised the third movie has not been named DUNE: MESSIAH — to follow the story of the second book in the series — Villeneuve’s comments, combined with the title of the movie, suggest he may be intentionally avoiding the “messiah” title so he can include storylines from the over 25 other books in the Herbert’s Dune series.
Meanwhile, other fans are simply excited that the movie has gone into production after Villeneuve previously suggested it could be years before the third movie hit theaters as he gave himself a break from the series.
Related: DUNE 3 Gets Release Date, and It’s Sooner Than Expected
“I felt that it was a good idea to move forward right after PART ONE. We were already designing, writing, et cetera. But it also meant that for six years I was on Arrakis non-stop, and I think it will be healthy to step back a little bit,” the director said.
“I don’t know exactly when I will go back to Arrakis,” Villeneuve confessed. “I might make a detour before just to go away from the sun. For my mental sanity I might do something in between, but my dream would be to go a last time on this planet that I love.”
Last December, however, DUNE fans got a major shock when Warner Bros. gave the third movie a 2026 release date. Villeneuve later explained that taking a break did not suit him, and he believed it would be better for him to finish out the series now rather than have it hanging over him.
DUNE: PART THREE is slated to release on Dec. 16, 2026.
Read Next: DUNE Director Ready for Third Installment: ‘I Want to Go Back to Arrakis’
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