Dune: Part Three - Wikipedia * Home * Random * Nearby * Create account * Log in * Settings Donate Now If Wikipedia is useful to you, please give today. * About Wikipedia * Disclaimers Search User menu * Create account * Log in Dune: Part Three * Article * Talk * Language * Watch * Edit This article is about the film directed by Denis Villeneuve. For the third novel in Frank Herbert's book series, see Children of Dune . Dune: Part Three is an upcoming American epic space opera film co-produced and directed by Denis Villeneuve , who co-wrote the screenplay with Brian K. Vaughan . Based on the 1969 novel Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert , it is the sequel to Dune: Part Two (2024) and the third and final film in Villeneuve's Dune film trilogy. The film stars Timothée Chalamet , Zendaya , Jason Momoa , Florence Pugh , Rebecca Ferguson , Isaach de Bankolé , Charlotte Rampling , Anya Taylor-Joy , Robert Pattinson , and Javier Bardem . Dune: Part Three Teaser poster Directed by Denis Villeneuve Screenplay by * Denis Villeneuve * Brian K. Vaughan Based on Dune Messiah by   Frank Herbert Produced by * Mary Parent * Cale Boyter * Joseph M. Caracciolo Jr. * Tanya Lapointe * Denis Villeneuve Starring * Timothée Chalamet * Zendaya * Jason Momoa * Florence Pugh * Rebecca Ferguson * Isaach de Bankolé * Charlotte Rampling * Anya Taylor-Joy * Robert Pattinson * Javier Bardem Cinematography Linus Sandgren Edited by Joe Walker Music by Hans Zimmer Production company Legendary Pictures Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Release date * December   18,   2026   ( 2026-12-18 ) Country United States Language English While promoting Dune (2021), Villeneuve confirmed plans to adapt Dune Messiah if the Dune films were successful, later stating that it would be the final film he would work on in the series. Following the critical and commercial success of Dune: Part Two , the film was confirmed to be in development, and Warner Bros. Pictures set up a December 2026 release date. After the cast was announced throughout March, principal photography began in July 2025 and wrapped that November, taking place in Budapest and Abu Dhabi . Hans Zimmer returned from the previous installments to compose the film's score. Dune: Part Three is scheduled to be released in the United States and Canada on December 18, 2026. Contents * 1 Premise * 2 Cast * 3 Production * 3.1 Development * 3.2 Writing * 3.3 Casting * 3.4 Filming * 3.5 Post-production * 4 Music * 5 Release * 6 Reception * 6.1 Accolades * 7 References * 8 External links Premise edit Dune: Part Three is set nearly two decades after Paul Atreides seized control of the Imperium. Now a ruthless Emperor, Paul must face the consequences of his reign as old allies return, terrifying new threats emerge, and betrayal lurks in every shadow. Haunted by visions of Imperial collapse and the reappearance of his long-lost love, Paul is drawn into a sweeping conspiracy, with Chani at the heart of its unfolding mystery. As rebellion brews and enemies close in, Paul must confront the true cost of power and the fate of those he loves the most. [ 1 ] Cast edit * Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides , the Padishah Emperor and head of House Atreides [ 2 ] * Zendaya as Chani , a young and rebellious Fremen warrior and Paul's former romantic partner [ 2 ] * Jason Momoa as Hayt , a ghola created in the image of Duncan Idaho, the deceased swordmaster of House Atreides and one of Paul's mentors [ 3 ] [ 4 ] * Florence Pugh as Irulan , Paul's wife and the daughter of former Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV [ 2 ] * Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica , Reverend Mother and Paul and Alia's mother [ 5 ] * Isaach de Bankolé as Farok , Paul's former Fedaykin death commando, now disillusioned with Paul [ 6 ] * Charlotte Rampling as Reverend Mother Mohiam , a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother and the former Emperor's Truthsayer [ 7 ] * Anya Taylor-Joy as Alia Atreides , Paul's sister [ 8 ] * Robert Pattinson as Scytale , a Tleilaxu Face Dancer who executes a plot to dethrone Paul. [ 9 ] [ 10 ] * Javier Bardem as Stilgar , the leader of the Fremen tribe at Sietch Tabr [ 6 ] * Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck , weapons master of House Atreides and one of Paul's mentors. [ 11 ] Nakoa-Wolf Momoa and Ida Brooke respectively portray Leto II Atreides and Ghanima Atreides , Paul and Chani's twin children. [ 12 ] Production edit Development edit In 2011, Mary Parent , vice chair of Legendary Entertainment , and her producing partner Cale Boyter acquired adaptation rights for Frank Herbert 's novel Dune (1965). In November 2016, Legendary acquired the film and TV rights for the Dune franchise . [ 13 ] [ 14 ] Legendary hired Denis Villeneuve to direct a film adaptation of Dune , and later secured a production deal with Warner Bros. Pictures to make a two-part adaptation of the novel. [ 15 ] While promoting Dune (2021) at the 78th Venice International Film Festival , Villeneuve confirmed he planned to adapt Herbert's second novel in the series, Dune Messiah (1969), as a part of his franchise if the Dune films were successful. [ 16 ] After Dune: Part Two (2024) was greenlit in October 2021, Villeneuve reiterated his hope of creating a film based on Dune Messiah . [ 17 ] [ 18 ] Screenwriter Jon Spaihts confirmed in March 2022 that Villeneuve still had plans for a third film, alongside planned television spin-off projects within the Dune franchise. [ 19 ] Villeneuve intends for Dune Messiah to serve as his final Dune film and installment within his Paul Atreides trilogy. [ 20 ] He wanted to take a break prior to producing the film due to being exhausted by directing the films back-to-back, intending to direct another film in between. [ 21 ] Following the release of Dune: Part Two , Legendary CEO Joshua Grode stated that the studio was "engaged" in development. [ 22 ] In March 2024, Villeneuve was cautious about making the film, as he wanted to ensure the script was good and said he would make the film only if he felt it was superior to Part Two . [ 23 ] By the next month, the film was confirmed to be in development by Villeneuve and Legendary Entertainment. [ 24 ] [ 25 ] In June 2024, Warner Bros. announced a December 18, 2026, release date for an upcoming film directed by Villeneuve, with The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline Hollywood speculating it was the third Dune film. Deadline Hollywood also stated that work on the script and casting had continued. [ 26 ] [ 27 ] In October 2024, Villeneuve said he was still writing the film and that he expected to begin production sooner than what he previously expected. [ 28 ] In August 2025, it was confirmed that Linus Sandgren would serve as the film's cinematographer, replacing Greig Fraser , who previously worked on Dune and Dune: Part Two , due to Fraser's commitments on Sam Mendes 's The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event (2028). [ 29 ] Writing edit Timothée Chalamet , Zendaya , Jason Momoa , Florence Pugh , Rebecca Ferguson , and Josh Brolin will reprise their roles as Paul Atreides, Chani, Duncan Idaho, Princess Irulan Corrino, Lady Jessica, and Gurney Halleck, respectively. While writing Dune: Part Two , Villeneuve noted Herbert's original intention to avoid depicting Paul Atreides as a heroic figure , intending for him to critique the idea of the Messiah and be an antihero . This impacted how he wrote Paul in Part Two , and said that its ending would eventually set up the sequel. [ 30 ] [ 31 ] He later emphasized he did not consider Part Three as a conclusion to a trilogy; he characterized the first two films as a diptych adapting Herbert's first novel and this film as having a distinct "identity." [ 32 ] Chalamet felt the film took the most "creative liberty" in terms of deviating from the source material. [ 33 ] As early as August 2023, Villeneuve began conceiving of potential ideas for the film, saying that there were "words on paper". He also expected it to serve as the final film in his trilogy with Dune and Dune: Part Two . [ 34 ] By that December, he said that he had almost finished writing the script. [ 21 ] Work continued that next month, with Villeneuve reiterating the film would conclude the story arc for Atreides. [ 35 ] He was still writing the film October of that year. [ 28 ] In February 2025, Villeneuve stated that Chani's heart was "broken" and that the film would begin with the initiation of the "Holy War". He felt a "responsibility" to finish his work on the film after seeing the positive critical reception that Part Two had received. [ 36 ] In October, actress Rebecca Ferguson described the script as "phenomenal" and "hard to create" given how dense the original book was due to how much it told, but that Villeneuve was able to dip in and out of it due to his desire to make certain "connections and tentacles" to the book. [ 5 ] In March 2026, with the release of the first trailer, it was revealed Brian K. Vaughan had co-written the screenplay alongside Villeneuve. [ 37 ] It was also revealed that unlike the original novel, which takes place 12 years after the first book, Part Three takes place 17 years after Part Two . [ 37 ] Casting edit Robert Pattinson joined Dune: Part Three as Scytale , the film's main antagonist. In March 2025, Jason Momoa revealed that he would reprise his role as Duncan Idaho from the first film. [ 3 ] In November 2025, it was confirmed that Robert Pattinson would also appear in a role, [ 38 ] with Timothée Chalamet , Zendaya , and Florence Pugh confirmed to return from the previous films. [ 2 ] Outlets speculated that Pattinson would be playing the film's villain, Scytale ; [ 39 ] In June 2025, Momoa's son Nakoa-Wolf Momoa in his debut acting role, and Ida Brooke were announced as being cast as Leto II and Ghanima Atreides, respectively. [ 12 ] In August, Josh Brolin confirmed that he would return as Gurney Halleck . [ 11 ] That same month, Variety confirmed Pattinson's involvement with the project. [ 40 ] In October 2025, Ferguson revealed that she had reprised her role as Lady Jessica for the film, albeit only in one scene since the character does not appear in the book. Villeneuve did not intend on including her in the film until he had an idea to warrant her presence. [ 5 ] In March 2026, it was revealed that Isaach de Bankolé was cast as Farok . [ 6 ] Filming edit Principal photography began on July 8, 2025, at Origo Film Studios in Budapest . [ 41 ] [ 42 ] [ 43 ] It was previously expected to begin in 2026. [ 28 ] A day later, it was announced that the film would be titled Dune: Part Three . [ 44 ] In August 2025, the Abu Dhabi Film Commission confirmed that filming would take place in Liwa Oasis during the latter stages of the year. [ 45 ] [ 46 ] A third "psychedelic unit ", consisting of two French-Canadian filmmakers, helped create "some crazy images" in the film. [ 47 ] IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond suggested that the entire film would be shot with IMAX cameras, though Variety reported that this was inaccurate as only select sequences were shot with IMAX cameras. [ 48 ] [ 44 ] The film is primarily shot on 65 mm film stock , with select sequences shot on 15/70 mm IMAX film . However, scenes of the desert were shot with IMAX-certified digital cameras to preserve the "brutality" of the environments, according to Villeneuve. [ 37 ] This differs from Dune: Part One and Part Two , which were entirely shot with IMAX-certified digital cameras and then printed onto 35 mm film stock , before being re-scanned digitally to emulate shot-on-film photography. [ 49 ] By October 2025, Ferguson had shot her scenes as Lady Jessica. [ 5 ] In November, Pattinson confirmed he wrapped his part, in which he stated that he simply obeyed Villeneuve's direction as his brain "wasn't actually operating" due to the desert's heat. [ 50 ] Filming wrapped on November 11, 2025. [ 51 ] Post-production edit Joe Walker returned as the editor from the previous two films. [ 52 ] Music edit In February 2024, Hans Zimmer was confirmed to be returning from the previous installments to compose the film's score. [ 53 ] Release edit Dune: Part Three is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures on December 18, 2026, in IMAX . [ 54 ] [ 55 ] In the United States, the film will have a three-week exclusivity period for IMAX theatres over Avengers: Doomsday , but is expected to split the remaining footprint of premium large format screens, including Dolby and ScreenX . [ 56 ] [ 57 ] Select IMAX 70   mm tickets went on sale for 19 locations on April 6, 2026, and sold out within minutes. [ 58 ] A short preview of the film was shown at IMAX 70   mm screenings of The Odyssey , with a message from Villeneuve thanking director Christopher Nolan . [ 59 ] Reception edit Accolades edit Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result References</span>"}]],"parts":[{"template":{"target":{"wt":"Abbr","href":"./Template:Abbr"},"params":{"1":{"wt":"Ref."},"2":{"wt":"References"}},"i":0}}]}">Ref. Astra Midseason Movie Awards June 30, 2026 Most Anticipated Film (Second Half of 2026) Dune: Part Three Nominated [ 60 ] Golden Trailer Awards May 28, 2026 Best Fantasy/Adventure Warner Bros. / Jax Nominated [ 61 ] [ 62 ] Best Original Score Won Best Summer 2026 Blockbuster Trailer Nominated References edit * ↑ Cinemark . Plot summary. August 19, 2026. * 1 2 3 4 Kroll, Justin (April 8, 2025). " Dune 3 : Legendary Circling Robert Pattinson for New Role in Upcoming Installment" . Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved April 17, 2025 . * 1 2 McPherson, Chris (March 31, 2025). "Jason Momoa Returns to Arrakis as Fast X Star Joins Dune Messiah " . Collider . Archived from the original on March 31, 2025 . Retrieved March 31, 2025 . * ↑ Pak, Jaron (March 17, 2025). "Who Is Hayt? Jason Momoa's New Dune 3 Character Explained" . SlashFilm . Retrieved March 18, 2026 . * 1 2 3 4 Erbland, Kate (October 7, 2025). "Kathryn Bigelow's riveting nuclear thriller A House of Dynamite scared star Rebecca Ferguson, too" . IndieWire . Retrieved October 8, 2025 . * 1 2 3 Blyth, Antonia (March 16, 2026). " 'Dune: Part Three' Trailer To Be Released Tuesday; Character Posters Revealed" . Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved March 16, 2026 . * ↑ "Return to Arrakis: 'Dune: Part Three' Trailer Debuts" . Animation World Network . Retrieved March 17, 2026 . * ↑ Taylor-Joy, Anya (August 21, 2025). "Matt Smith tells Anya Taylor-Joy why 'life's fucking mega' " . Interview Magazine . Archived from the original on August 21, 2025 . Retrieved December 8, 2025 . * ↑ Gomez, Dessi (February 6, 2026). " 'Dune 3' – Theaters – Dec. 18" . Deadline . Retrieved February 10, 2026 . * ↑ Sharf, Zack (November 4, 2025). "Robert Pattinson says filming Dune   3 was 'so hot in the desert' that 'my brain wasn't operating: I did not have a single functioning brain cell' " . Variety . Retrieved November 5, 2025 . * 1 2 Girolamo, Dan (August 7, 2025). "Dune 3: Josh Brolin Shares Disappointing Update About His Character" . SuperHeroHype . Archived from the original on August 7, 2025 . Retrieved August 7, 2025 . * 1 2 Grobar, Matt (June 17, 2025). "Nakoa-Wolf Momoa & Ida Brooke Join Dune 3 as Twin Children of Paul Atreides" . Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on June 17, 2025 . Retrieved June 17, 2025 . * ↑ Busch, Anita (November 21, 2016). "Legendary Acquires Frank Herbert's Classic Sci-Fi Novel Dune For Film And TV" . Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on December 22, 2016 . Retrieved December 22, 2016 . * ↑ Kroll, Justin (November 21, 2016). "Legendary Lands Rights to Classic Sci-Fi Novel Dune " . Variety . Archived from the original on December 22, 2016 . Retrieved December 22, 2016 . * ↑ Kroll, Justin (December 21, 2016). " Blade Runner 2049 Helmer Denis Villeneuve Eyed to Direct Dune Reboot" . Variety . Archived from the original on December 22, 2016 . Retrieved December 22, 2016 . * ↑ Casey, Dan (September 3, 2021). " Dune Director Denis Villeneuve Teases Trilogy Plans" . Nerdist . Archived from the original on September 3, 2021 . Retrieved September 3, 2021 . * ↑ Davids, Brian (October 28, 2021). "Denis Villeneuve on Dune Success and the Road to Part Two " . The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on October 28, 2021 . Retrieved October 28, 2021 . * ↑ Jolin, Dan (January 10, 2022). "Denis Villeneuve talks 'taxing' Dune shoot, identifying with Paul Atreides, sequel plans" . Screendaily.com . Archived from the original on January 10, 2022 . Retrieved January 13, 2022 . * ↑ Ellwood, Gregory (March 10, 2022). "Jon Spaihts on a Potential Dune Trilogy & Collaborating With Park Chan-Wook [ Interview ] " . ThePlaylist.net . Archived from the original on May 31, 2022 . Retrieved March 11, 2022 . * ↑ Zacharek, Stephanie (January 31, 2023). "Denis Villeneuve Refuses to Let Hollywood Shrink Him Down to Size" . Time . Archived from the original on January 31, 2024 . Retrieved February 11, 2024 . * 1 2 Sharf, Zack (December 8, 2023). "Denis Villeneuve Says Dune 3 Script Is 'Almost Finished,' but 'For My Mental Sanity I Might Do Something' Else in Between" . Variety . Archived from the original on March 1, 2024 . Retrieved February 11, 2024 . * ↑ McClintock, Pamela (March 5, 2024). "Box Office: Dune: Part Two Makes Major Gains With Younger Adults" . The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on March 5, 2024 . Retrieved March 5, 2024 . * ↑ Hewitt, Chris (March 18, 2024). " Dune Part Two : Five Things We Learned from Denis Villeneuve" . Empire . Archived from the original on March 18, 2024 . Retrieved March 22, 2024 . * ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (April 4, 2024). "Legendary, Dune Helmer Denis Villeneuve Re-Team on Nuclear War: A Scenario " . Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on April 4, 2024 . Retrieved April 4, 2024 . * ↑ Thompson, Jaden (April 4, 2024). "Denis Villeneuve and Legendary Developing Dune 3 a