With the completion of Dune and Dune: Part Two, both directed by Denis Villeneuve, Frank Herbert’s seminal science fiction novel now has a movie franchise on a scale that rivals Lord of the Rings, The Godfather, and Harry Potter. Now, all eyes are on the future with Dune: Messiah (aka, Dune 3).
Villeneuve’s third Dune movie is set to adapt the second book in Herbert’s literary series. Dune: Messiah continues the story of Paul Atreides, who is now deep into his reign as Padishah Emperor and struggles in his role foretold by prophecy. Like true Kwisatz Haderachs, let us see into the future to run down all that we currently know about Dune: Messiah.
Is Dune 3 Coming Out?
Yes! A third Dune movie is on the way, with director Denis Villeneuve back in the director’s chair.
In various interviews since the start of his involvement with Dune, Villeneuve made his intentions clear to helm a movie based on Dune: Messiah. In a January 2024 interview with TIME, Villeneuve said Messiah would be his next and last Dune movie directed by him.
On April 4, 2024, after the box office success of Dune: Part Two, Legendary Pictures officially confirmed to Variety that Villeneuve was in active development of “a third Dune film.”
When is the Dune 3 release date?
This is a trickier question to answer than you might think. While Villeneuve is all-systems-go on Dune: Messiah, he’s taking his time with the process, as well as letting Timothée Chalamet age to play an older Paul Atreides.
In a February 2024 interview with UK outlet The Times, Villeneuve acknowledged the “desire to have a third one” but added, “I don’t want to rush it.”
“The danger in Hollywood is that people get excited and only think about release dates, not quality,” Villeneuve said.
It’s in Villeneuve’s interest to wait, as actor Timothée Chalamet is still too youthful in his 20s to play a grown king burdened by godhood. In a March 2022 article written by Villeneuve for Vanity Fair, the director expressed his intentions to wait for Chalamet to play Messiah’s version of Paul: “I want to make part two as fast as possible, then I will wait a few years – until Timothée Chalamet gets a bit older – to do the final installment.”
What is the plot of Dune: Messiah?
The story of Frank Herbert’s Dune is about the magnificence of ascendancy, but the sequel Dune: Messiah is anything but glorious in its portrait of downfall. Published in 1969, Dune: Messiah splashes cold water on Paul’s coming-of-age greatness to reveal the trap doors of destiny and how paralyzing absolute power feels.
Set 12 years after the end of Dune, Paul Atreides is now Padishah Emperor over the known universe. His Fremen fanatics are out of control, having slaughtered 61 billion people, they are guilty of unspeakable atrocities all in Paul’s name. Where Paul’s powers as Kwisatz Haderach once gave him advantages to amass power, his ominous visions now feel like a disease from which “Muad’Dib” can’t be cured. Minor spoilers: In a twist of irony, Paul is at one point blinded in Dune: Messiah. He maintains deception of eyesight by adhering to his visions, quite literally following them step-by-step. Is destiny still destiny if you have no free will?
While Paul wrestles with the burdens of godhood, different factions – including the Bene Gesserit, the Bene Tleilax, and the Spacing Guild – conspire to dethrone Paul. They have an ally in Princess Irulan, who languishes in a loveless marriage to Paul while Paul is still in love with Chani. As Paul’s concubine, Chani has been unable to birth an heir for Paul. (Might Irulan have something to do with that? Hmm.)
Dune: Messiah follows Paul as he tries to work against his visions and ensure humanity does not go extinct under his supervision.
Who is in the cast of Dune: Messiah?
There is currently no one confirmed to star in Dune: Messiah. However, we can safely assume a few will return to reprise their roles in Dune: Messiah.
- Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides. Now Padishah Emperor, an older Paul Atreides commands the known universe but finds himself besieged by enemies and the curse of his prescience and manifested destiny.
- Zendaya as Chani. In Dune, Chani is a Fremen and Paul’s true love. But in Dune: Messiah, she is Paul’s concubine and mysteriously struggles to give birth to an heir.
- Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, the daughter of deposed emperor Shaddam IV (played by Christolpher Walken in Dune: Part Two) and Paul’s official wife. The marriage is loveless, however, having been offered up by her father during Paul’s ascendancy.
- Anya Taylor-Joy as Alia, Paul’s sister. In Dune: Part Two, Anya Taylor-Joy made a buzzy cameo appearance as Alia, appearing to Paul in a vision. In Dune: Messiah, Alia plays a significant role, both as a member of House Atreides and as someone who was exposed to the Water of Life in the womb and is now plagued by ancestral memories.
- Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho/Hayt. Minor spoilers here, but in Dune: Messiah, Duncan Idaho’s corpse is used as a “ghola” – an artificial being using a dead individual as a basis. Paul’s enemies gift him a ghola based on his childhood friend and mentor Duncan, now named Hayt, to psychologically mess with Paul.
Is there a trailer for Dune: Messiah?
Currently, there are no trailers or teasers for Dune: Messiah. As of this writing, the movie has yet to enter production and thus nothing has been filmed.
How many Dune movies will there be in total?
It is not known how many movies will make up the Dune franchise. Denis Villeneuve has confirmed that Dune: Messiah will be his last Dune movie. But Villeneuve doesn’t believe it would be the end of any more Dune. It’s only the end of his involvement.
In a September 2024 interview with Vanity Fair, Villeneuve expressed exhaustion towards the material. (Can you blame him? Dune and Dune: Part Two are gigantic undertakings.) While Villeneuve intends “to do something else” after Messiah, he is keeping the door open for someone else to take over and presumably adapt the next book in Frank Herbert’s original novels, Children of Dune.
Said Villeneuve:
“Listen, if Dune: Messiah happens, it will have been many years for me on Arrakis, and I would love to do something else. 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. 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.”
Herbert wrote six Dune novels in total, while other authors – including Frank’s eldest son Brian Herbert – have expanded the “Duniverse” with dozens of novels set before and during Herbert’s story. In a way, the story of Dune could go on forever.
