If you’re hoping to buy tickets for Dune 3 after just seeing the sequel in theaters, settle in for a long wait.
Fans flocked to theaters at the end of February to see Dune Part 2, the highly anticipated sequel to Denis Villeneuve’s vision of the fantasy story.
There was a nearly three year wait between the first and second installments of the franchise. Thankfully, Villeneuve has confirmed that a third Dune film will happen.
That’s the good news. The bad news? It’s going to take a long time to get here.
‘Dune 3’ Confirmed: Why It Will Be The Last Film
“’Dune Messiah’ should be the last ‘Dune’ movie for me,” Villeneuve confirmed to Time magazine in an interview ahead of the theatrical release of Dune: Part Two.
The acclaimed director confirmed that his vision will span over three films, despite the book series the films are based on expanding much farther.
The first two films follow the story set forth in Frank Herbert’s original novel. With the third, Villeneuve plans to cover what happens in the second novel in the series, “Dune Messiah.”
However, that leaves SEVERAL other sequels on the cutting room floor to cover, including. “Children of Dune,” “God Emperor of Dune,” “Heretics of Dune” and “Chapterhouse: Dune.”
But the fans have stuck with his vision so far – and besides, it sounds like the director is ready for a break.
‘Dune 3’ Release Date: When Will Fans See The Final Film?
Here’s the thing: as the film hasn’t even started yet, setting a release date is premature. Not that it hasn’t been done before, but in this case, the date just hasn’t been decided on yet.
The hold up may just be Villeneuve.
He’s not officially signed on to direct a third, and given that he’s spent the last six years devoted to making his first two “Dune” movies, and he sounds like he’s ready for a break.
He shared at a press conference in South Korea in 2023 that “there was no gap” between the first two movies, and he wants to take time before tackling “Messiah.”
“I don’t know exactly when I will go back to Arrakis,” Villeneuve said. “I might make a detour before just to go away from the sun. For my mental sanity, I might do something in between.”
Will Zendaya and Timothée Return For Another ‘Dune’ Movie?
Along with the beloved director, there doesn’t seem to be much of a point in doing another Dune movie without the two main leads.
Fans have really grown to love Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet in their respective roles and thankfully, the feeling seems mutual.
Zendaya, who stars as Chani in Villeneuve’s Dune movies, was recently asked by Fandango whether she would want to return for a third movie.
“Would we be down? I mean of course,” Zendaya said about making another Dune. “Any time Denis calls it’s a yes from me. I’m excited to see what happens. I started [reading] ‘Messiah’ and I was like, ‘Woah, I’m only shooting the first movie. Let me just go back to the first one.’ It’s so much to take in, but there’s no better hands with better care and love for it than Denis.”
Timothée is in total agreement. “The idea excites me very much,” the leading man told Total Film magazine. “If the time and opportunity comes to complete the story with ‘Messiah,’ I think we’re all super enthusiastic about that.”
Dune: Part Two opens in theaters March 1 from Warner Bros. We’ll keep updating this page as new developments come up!