"Dune: Part Three" has been one of my most anticipated films of 2026 ever since its release date was announced. But Warner Bros. just dropped the first teaser trailer for the upcoming sci-fi epic and after watching it half a dozen times, this Denis Villeneuve film now stands alone as my most-anticipated movie of the year.
I'll get into a full breakdown below, but my instant reaction is "Holy s***." My second reaction was getting goosebumps as Timothée Chalamet's epic war chant takes over the trailer. My third reaction was just trying not to cry tears of joy.
And that's from watching the trailer on a monitor with Bluetooth speakers; imagine this thing in IMAX. Side note: how awesome is it to get a two-and-a-half-minute-long teaser trailer?
So with "Dune: Part Three" now just a mere nine months away, and a first trailer official under our belts, let's dive into everything you need to know from this official teaser.
'Dune: Part 3' trailer breakdown: Chalamet, Zendaya and Pattinson — oh my
For those in need of a quick refresher. "Dune: Part Three" is the conclusion of director Denis Villeneuve's "Dune" trilogy. The first two movies, "Dune" and "Dune: Part Two," both adapted the Frank Herbert novel "Dune," the first in Herbert's beloved sci-fi series.
In those two movies, we witness Paul Atredies (Chalamet) rise from the ashes of Harkonnen betrayal on Arrakis to, nominally, take the title of Emperor of the Known Universe.
"Dune: Part Three," though, is a different beast. This movie is adapted from "Dune Messiah," Herbert's far darker sequel to "Dune." In this story, Paul is deep in a bloody conflict that's killed billions as he looks to cement control over the Empire and protect humanity from a far worse fate than galactic conflict.
Whether or not billions will die in Villeneuve's adaptation remains to be seen, but there appear to be strong indications in this trailer that he and co-writer Brian K. Vaughn will stay true to a fair amount of the source material.
The trailer begins with Paul and Chani (Zendaya) together, discussing the names of their unborn child. That may seem odd to those who watched Chani storm out of the throne room in "Dune: Part Two," but it's an integral part of "Dune Messiah," so I'm not surprised to see it.
From there, we start to see the far-reaching conflict play out. Fremen, now fervently following Paul, are fighting on multiple fronts. Meanwhile, Paul is fighting the enemy within, including the Bene Gesserit, seemingly with the aid of Paul's wife, Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), and Robert Pattinson's Scytale, a new character who will be known to "Dune" novel fans but unknown to everyone else.
These aren't the only familiar faces we see, though. As an epic Fremen war cry takes over the score of the trailer, we see Anya Taylor-Joy, Rebecca Ferguson and Javier Bardem all reprising their roles from "Dune: Part Two." It's about here where the goosebumps really kick in, as we see the battle rage on and the appearance of what appears to be Duncan Idaho, seemingly dead in the first movie but confirmed to be returning by Jason Momoa, who plays the soldier.
We'll almost certainly get another trailer before "Dune: Part Three" arrives in theaters and IMAX on Dec. 18, 2026. But honestly, if we don't, I'm okay with going in way too hyped from this trailer alone. I'm already locking the epic conclusion to the "Dune" trilogy in for Best Picture at next year's Academy Awards.
