The third instalment in the Dune series will reportedly start filming this summer ahead of a reported release date of December 2026.
Denis Villeneuve’s epic adaptation of Frank Herbert’s influential sci-fi saga has proven to be a huge hit for the director and Warner Bros, with Dune: Part Two earning more than $700m (£555m) worldwide and five Oscar nominations.
Although the last film concluded the first novel, Villeneuve has expressed a desire to make the second book, Dune Messiah into a film to wrap up Paul Atreides’ character arc.
Reports from April 2024 stated that the project was already in development. A name for the film is yet to be confirmed.
Deadline now reports that shooting is expected to begin this summer, but June is considered to be too early with a mid-late summer start being seen as more feasible.
The film will likely see Zendaya return as Chani. But the production might have to work around her busy 2025 schedule, which includes Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, a fourth Spider-Man film and Euphoria season 3.
Shooting locations are yet to be confirmed but the two previous films were made in Hungary, Jordan and Abu Dhabi.
Although the information on Dune 3 is thin at the moment, this latest revelation has fans excited.
“Man if Messiah is any good as the previous, it deserves Best Picture,” said one person.
Another fan wrote: “It's still crazy to me that we will have seen three Dune movies in the span of 5 years. I can't wait to see this version of Messiah, likely in Winter 2026 (which is years earlier than I had ever dared expect). This is going to be such a heartbreaking finale to the trilogy.”
A third enthusiastic fan added: “Villeneuve is about to cook again. Give this man unlimited budget and creative freedom!”
The second novel is set 12 years after the events of the first book, with Atreides still serving as Emperor of the Known Universe having unleashed the Fremen’s deadly jihad on the galaxy, leaving billions dead.
Atreides, though, begins to realise that despite his position he has become powerless to stop the excessive religious violence that he has authorised.
The novel also sees a bigger role for Paul’s sister, Alia, who was briefly played by Anya Taylor-Joy in the previous film. It also curiously sees the return of the previously dead Duncan Idaho, who was played by Jason Momoa in the first film.
No casting news for the new movie has been announced at the time of writing.
