Conspiracies and regrets abound in Dune: Part Three trailer - Ars Technica Skip to content Ars Technica home Sections Forum Subscribe Search * AI * Biz & IT * Cars * Culture * Gaming * Health * Policy * Science * Security * Space * Tech * Feature * Reviews * AI * Biz & IT * Cars * Culture * Gaming * Health * Policy * Science * Security * Space * Tech Forum Subscribe Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Pin to story Theme * HyperLight * Day & Night * Dark * System Search Sign In destroyer of worlds Conspiracies and regrets abound in Dune: Part Three trailer “You promised me that you would never take power in your name.” Jennifer Ouellette – Jul 9, 2026 10:45 am | 125 Credit: Warner Bros. Credit: Warner Bros. Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav We haven’t seen much footage to date for Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Three , other than the broody and haunting extended teaser Warner Bros. dropped in March . But now we’ve got a shiny new trailer jam-packed with tantalizing hints of what to expect, and plenty of Easter eggs to delight avid book fans. (Spoilers for first two films in the franchise below.) As previously reported , in 2021’s Dune , we first met Frank Herbert’s iconic anti-hero, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet). That film culminated in the brutal defeat of House Atreides by rival House Harkonnen, with Paul and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), fleeing to the desert and taking refuge among the Fremen. Among them is Chani (Zendaya), whom Paul has been seeing in visions all along. In Dune: Part Two  (2024), Paul ingratiated himself with the Fremen, learning to ride a sandworm and winning Chani’s love. A pregnant Lady Jessica had her own plans for Paul as a messiah figure, in order to fulfill a Bene Gesserit prophecy. Ultimately, Paul challenges the emperor, defeats his champion, and demands the Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) as his wife. The other Great Houses reject Paul as ruler, so he launches a holy war against them. And Chani rides off on a sandworm after refusing to bow down to Paul. Dune: Part Three draws on Herbert’s novel Dune: Messiah and will take place roughly 17 years after the end of Part Two , according to Villeneuve, as Paul faces the consequences of his earlier actions. Per the official premise: Dune Messiah continues the story of Paul Atreides, better known—and feared—as the man christened Muad’Dib. As Emperor of the known universe, he possesses more power than a single man was ever meant to wield. Worshipped as a religious icon by the fanatical Fremen, Paul faces the enmity of the political houses he displaced when he assumed the throne—and a conspiracy conducted within his own sphere of influence. And even as House Atreides begins to crumble around him from the machinations of his enemies, the true threat to Paul comes to his lover, Chani, and the unborn heir to his family’s dynasty… Chalamet is back as Paul Atreides, along with Zendaya, Pugh, and Ferguson. Josh Brolin reprises his role as weapons master Gurney Halleck; Javier Bardem is back as Stilgar, leader of the Fremen tribe at Sietch Tabr; and Jason Momoa returns as Duncan Idaho/Hayt. Joining the cast are Anya Taylor-Joy as Paul’s younger sister, Alia; Robert Pattinson as the villainous Scytale, who plots to dethrone Paul; Isaach de Bankolé as Paul’s former Fedaykin, Farok; Nakoa-Wolf Momoa (son of Jason) as Paul and Chani’s son, Leto II Atreides; and Ida Brooke as Paul and Chani’s daughter, Ghanima Atreides. War and peace The trailer opens with an argument between Paul and Chani, interspersed with flashbacks to happier times and scenes of a brutal battle. “I trusted you!” she angrily tells Paul. “You promised me that you would never take power in your name. You convinced me that this was your home, that I was your home.” Instead, Paul waged galactic war and “destroyed thousands of worlds” to become emperor, alienating the woman he loved. Cut to the reappearance of Duncan Idaho, or rather, a reanimated ghola named Hayt who retains Duncan’s memories. He thinks Paul is “way beyond redemption” after all the atrocities he has committed. Hayt says he’s there to deliver a peace proposal but warns Paul that “it’s meant to destroy you.” The conspirators seem to include Princess Irulan and Scytale, but she doesn’t seem keen on the fact that Scytale intends to kill Paul to achieve “regime change.” She calls him an idiot: “You’ve just signed our death warrants.” (Paul does have prescient powers as a result of the events in Dune: Part Two , which makes conspiring against him rather challenging.) Meanwhile, the film version of Chani just might be conspiring against Paul in her own way. We see her on the dunes of Arrakis, seemingly summoning a sandworm, which charges before stopping in front of her. The final shot is a remorseful Paul asking for forgiveness for all that he has done. Dune: Part Three  is slated to hit theaters on December 18, 2026. Credit: Warner Bros. Credit: Warner Bros. Jennifer Ouellette Senior Writer Jennifer Ouellette Senior Writer Jennifer is a senior writer at Ars Technica with a particular focus on where science meets culture, covering everything from physics and related interdisciplinary topics to her favorite films and TV series. Jennifer lives in Baltimore with her spouse, physicist Sean M. Carroll, and their two cats, Ariel and Caliban. 125 Comments Comments Forum view Loading comments... Prev story Next story Most Read * 1. OpenAI agents discussed ways to escape their sandbox on public wiki * 2. I rented a car, and within hours, my driver's license was for sale * 3. After 8 years, Europe's BepiColombo mission is on final approach to Mercury * 4. Meet the 2026 Ig Nobel Prize winners * 5. Tesla’s Cybercab has been deployed, and it’s already under investigation Customize Ars Technica has been separating the signal from the noise for over 25 years. With our unique combination of technical savvy and wide-ranging interest in the technological arts and sciences, Ars is the trusted source in a sea of information. After all, you don’t need to know everything, only what’s important. More from Ars * About Us * Staff Directory * Ars Newsletters * General FAQ * Posting Guidelines * AI Policy * RSS Feeds Contact * Contact us * Advertise with us * Reprints Manage Preferences © 2026 Condé Nast. All rights reserved. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Ars Technica Addendum and Your California Privacy Rights . Ars Technica may earn compensation on sales from links on this site. Read our affiliate link policy . The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Ad Choices