Spoiler alert: The following contains major plot details for Dune: Part Two, out now.
At the end of the 2021 Timothée Chalamet movie Dune, audiences were left wondering if a sequel would follow its cliffhanger. Now that Part Two is in theaters, they may be feeling déjà vu: Will there be a third?
Director Denis Villeneuve has maintained that his plan was to adapt author Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi novel Dune, the story of Paul Atreides’ journey to the desert planet Arrakis and a messianic destiny, into two big-screen installments.
Not long after the first film’s premiere, a sequel was indeed green-lit, and the Oscar-nominated director expressed his desire to make “at least three” Dune movies.
Covering most of the events and concepts in Herbert’s original novel, the 2021 and 2024 Dune films lead Chalamet down some of that arc as Paul. The character begins as ducal heir on the planet Caladan, training under his father, mother, mentor, swordmaster, and teacher.
Part Two finds Paul on Arrakis learning the ways of the mysterious Fremen people who see him as a prophetic messiah.
Last August, Villeneuve mentioned that “there are words on paper” for a third film, which would follow the events of Herbert’s second novel in the series, 1969’s Dune Messiah.
Dune: Part Two ends with Paul besting the Emperor and the Harkonnens and launching the holy war across the universe that he had glimpsed in his spice-induced visions.
Both Alia and Irulan are characters with substantial roles in many of Herbert’s follow-ups, starting with Dune Messiah.
While fans eagerly wait for confirmation of a third movie, it seems Chalamet is among them. “The idea excites me very much,” the Oscar nominee expressed.
Dune: Part Two is in theaters now.
