Dune 3: Everything We Know About The Movie Adaptation Of Messiah

While there may be a contingent of aging Gen-Xers in the world who still adore David Lynch's 1984 adaptation of Frank Herbert's "Dune," it was Denis Villeneuve's adaptations from the 2020s that have come to redefine the text for a new generation. Villeneuve's "Dune" was released in 2021, his "Dune: Part Two" came out in 2024, and the films garnered 15 Academy Award nominations between them, with both getting nominated for Best Picture. The first won six Oscars, and the second won two. The wholly oblique, byzantine mythology of Herbert's books was finally made somewhat digestible by Villeneuve's film. By splitting the first of Herbert's books into two movies, the filmmaker also allowed himself the leeway to actually explore the story, getting into the fineries of political and religious manipulation employed by generations upon generations of corrupt resource hoarders. 

Very briefly, "Dune" is set in the very, very distant future on the desert planet of Arrakis, a.k.a. Dune. Arrakis is the only known source of a hallucinogenic spice that, when ingested, can expand a human's brain. The spice is required for, among other things, allowing humans to calculate the fineries of long distance space travel, making it the most valuable resource in the universe. Villeneuve's movies tell the story of the relatively benevolent royal family House Atreides as they are granted control of Arrakis by the galactic Emperor Shaddam IV. It turns out, though, that Shaddam wants House Atreides killed, and was secretly conspiring with the rivals of Arrakis, the evil House Harkonnen, to assassinate them all. 

The prince of House Atreides, Paul (Timothée Chalamet), escapes the attack and flees into the desert with his mother, Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), where they are taken in by the Fremen, the migratory natives of the planet. Among the Fremen, Paul comes to be seen as their messiah. 

It's fitting, then, that the next film in Villeneuve's sci-fi trilogy will be called "Dune Messiah," based on Herbert's 1969 sequel novel.

At the end of "Dune: Part Two," which adapts the end of Herbert's original novel, Paul faces off with the Harkonnen prince Feyd Rautha (Austin Butler) over, essentially, control of the planet. The Emperor (Chsritopher Walken) is in attendance. After the fight, Paul says that he will marry the Emperor's daughter, the princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), upsetting his Fremen girlfriend Chani (Zendaya). Paul and Irulan will take control of Arakkis and usher in a new age of religious doctrine. "Dune: Part Two," even moreso than Herbert's book, focuses on how the mystical aspects of the Fremen's religion are being openly toyed with by Lady Jessica. Paul's messianic status was something she deliberately encouraged, knowing it would motivate the people and allow Paul to seize power.

Herbert's "Dune Messiah" picks up 12 years after the events of "Dune," when Paul is 30 years old. Villeneuve has said before that he has to wait to make "Dune Messiah," as to allow the now-29-year-old Chalamet to further age into the role. The adult Paul has unleashed a Fremen jihad across the galaxy, and billions upon billions of people have been slaughtered in his name. Paul has psychic visions in the book, and he intuits that this was actually the preferable route for humanity; everything else would have been even more destructive. 

The plot of "Dune Messiah" involves the Bene Gesserit trying to manipulate the bloodline to keep themselves ingratiated in the highest circles of power. Paul has to balance the construction of a new empire while carefully avoiding his already-assigned messiah status. The story also sees the resurrection of Duncan Idaho (played by Jason Momoa in Villeneuve's film), since clones — or ghola — are common in this universe. 

Villeneuve has been teasing a film adaptation of "Dune Messiah" for years, and it looks like he'll get his wish. He has already begun writing the screenplay. Whether he'll require two films to cover the events of Herbert's novel remains to be seen. 

So, yes, the "Dune Messiah" movie is indeed a Denis Villeneuve project. He will be writing and directing it. Hans Zimmer, the Oscar-nominated composer of the first two films, has also already begun writing music for the new film. "Dune Messiah" will, as per the comments that Villeneuve made above, star Timothee Chalamet, who is finally old enough to play Paul at the age of 30. An article in Deadline pointed out that the shoot for "Dune Messiah" is slated to begin in the summer of 2025, as that's when a hole opened up in Zendaya's busy schedule. She is, as of this writing, involved in Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey," the third season of "Euphoria," and the superhero flick "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," currently slated for release in 2026. 

This all means, of course, that Zendaya will also return to play Chani. Although not confirmed, the story would dictate that Florence Pugh will likely also return to play the Princess Irluan, and that Momoa will return to play the resurrected Duncan Idaho. "Messiah" will also see the birth of Paul's sister Alia, who was seen as an adult in a dream sequence in "Dune: Part Two." Anya Taylor-Joy played the adult Alia, and it remains unclear if she'll also play the young Alia in "Messiah." It remains to be seen, however, how faithfully Villeneuve will stick to Frank Herbert's text. His version of the "Dune" saga already made a few key changes — the lack of magical mysticism being the most glaring — and only time will tell if those changes alter the very direction of the story as it was written in 1969. 

As mentioned in the Deadline article, shooting will indeed begin on "Dune Messiah" this summer, presumably in the same Jordanian locations where the first two "Dune" movies were set. Villeneuve has said he was glad to have split up the first "Dune" story into two movies, as it allowed him, his crew, and his cast to take a break from the location's overwhelming heat. Deadline had previously reported that there was an open spot on Warner Bros. release calendar — in December of 2026 — that was reserved for a "Denis Villeneuve Event Film." Villeneuve is also working on a movie adaptation of Annie Jacobsen's Pulitzer Prize finalist book "Nuclear War: A Scenario," which seems to have taken a backseat to his third "Dune" film.

So if all goes according to plan, "Dune Messiah" will be a Christmas release next year, more or less assuring further Academy Awards attention. It seems logical to assume that much of the same crew will also return for the third film; also not confirmed, but it seems likely that "Dune" and "Dune: Part Two" cinematographer Greig Fraser will come back, as well as costumers Jacqueline West and Bob Morgan. 

These are, of course, a lot of assumptions. One might also just as easily assume that Villeneuve wants to take "Messiah" in a new visual direction, and hire a new crew to achieve a different look and tone for a different kind of story. The "Dune" mythology is one of the more complex in modern sci-fi, so Villeneuve may visually pivot to allow for more streamlined storytelling. We won't known for sure until the film is released in December of 2026.

Again, this is not officially confirmed, but rumors have been flying around the internet (covered by the stalwart writers at /Film) that actor Robert Pattinson will almost assuredly play a character named Scytale in "Dune Messiah." This would mark a reunion between Chalamet and Pattinson, who both starred in the 2019 Netflix film "The King" about King Henry V. 

Scytale is, in the myth of "Dune Messiah," a Tleilaxu Face Dancer. The Tleilaxu are a heretofore unseen cult that everyone is afraid of, and "face dancing" is a talent for shape-shifting that few in the "Dune" universe possess. Fans of the TV series "Dune: Prophecy," set 10,000 years before the original "Dune," have already seen Face Dancers in action. That series features a character named Sister Theodosia (Jade Anouka), who can shapeshift.

Scytale will be one of the key players in a complex assassination plot against Paul, and he/they will fall in league with the Bene Geserit Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam (who was played by Charlotte Rampling in the previous two movies). I say "he/they" because the character can also change gender at will, and is sometimes a female in the story. Whether Pattinson will be playing the female version of Scytale also remains to be seen. 

As mentioned, though, Pattinson's involvement is still just a rumor, and it has not yet been announced who will officially be playing the role. Pattinson is a capable actor, but given the genderlessness of the character, it may behoove Villeneuve to hire a genderqueer or nonbinary performer instead. At this point, though, all we can do is wait for further updates.