Earlier this year, it was reported that Dune: Part 2 would not be the concluding chapter in Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Frank Herbert's seminal sci-fi saga after all, as the director was planning to helm a third movie based on the second book, Dune: Messiah.
Now, Villeneuve has confirmed that, should he get the opportunity, he will indeed direct Dune: Part 3.
"if I succeed in making a trilogy, that would be the dream,” the filmmaker tells Empire. “Dune Messiah was written in reaction to the fact that people perceived Paul Atreides as a hero. Which is not what he wanted to do. My adaptation [of Dune] is closer to his idea that it’s actually a warning.”
However, If he does get the chance to adapt Messiah, he has no interest in going any further. “After that the books become more… esoteric."
Esoteric is certainly one way of putting it. Outright bonkers is another!
Although a third film will likely hinge on how successful Part 2 is at the box office, Villeneuve seems confident, revealing that, “there are words on paper.”
Without going into too much detail for fear of spoiling Part 2, Messiah is set 12 years after the events of the opening novel, and has a lot going on. We're not sure how Villeneuve is planning to condense this story into one film when he needed to split the first book in half, but there's always a chance Part 2 will also adapt just enough of Messiah to lay the groundwork for the next film.
The saga continues as award-winning filmmaker Denis Villeneuve embarks on Dune: Part Two, the next chapter of Frank Herbert’s celebrated novel Dune, with an expanded all-star international ensemble cast. The film, from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, is the highly anticipated follow-up to 2021’s six-time Academy Award-winning Dune.
The big-screen epic continues the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s acclaimed bestseller Dune with returning and new stars, including Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet (Wonka, Call Me by Your Name), Zendaya (Spider-Man: No Way Home, Malcolm & Marie, Euphoria), Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning), Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (Avengers: Endgame, Milk), Oscar nominee Austin Butler (Elvis, Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood), Oscar nominee Florence Pugh (Black Widow, Little Women), Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor: Love and Thunder), Oscar winner Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter,), Stephen McKinley Henderson (Fences), Léa Seydoux (James Bond, Crimes of the Future), with Stellan Skarsgård (Avengers: Age of Ultron), Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling (45 Years, Assassin’s Creed), and Oscar winner Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men, Being the Ricardos).
Dune: Part Two will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.