Summary:
- Dune 3, or Dune: Part Three, is officially confirmed to be underway by Legendary, with Denis Villeneuve returning to the helm.
- Dune 3 will be Villeneuve’s last venture with the adaptation, as he wants to wrap things up in a trilogy.
- The director also has one more project with the studio, “Nuclear War: A Scenario,” an adaptation of Annie Jacobsen’s bestselling book.
The sands of Arrakis are set to swirl once more as “Dune: Part Three” is officially confirmed to be underway by Legendary, heralding the continuation of Denis Villeneuve’s epic saga.
Variety has spilled the spice, confirming that Villeneuve is teaming up with Legendary once again to steer the ship for the trilogy’s climactic conclusion.
Riding high on the wave of “Dune: Part Two‘s” box office triumph, which has already pocketed a cool $630 million globally and continues to break even more barriers, Villeneuve isn’t resting on his laurels. The sequel, starring the likes of Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, and Zendaya alongside a parade of top-tier talent, has temporarily claimed the title of 2024’s box office champion so far.
It follows Paul Atreides, portrayed by Chalamet, as he steps into his destiny to avenge his family, while shouldering the responsibility of Lisan Al Gaib, the prophesied savior that will save Arrakis and the Fremen from external forces. The sequel already surpassed the success of the first “Dune” film, which garnered $402 million worldwide in 2021.
In the wake of “Dune: Part Two’s” success, Legendary didn’t skip a beat, diving straight into “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” which has already smashed the box office with a whopping $251 million in its debut week.
Hints at “Dune: Part Three” have been floating around, with Villeneuve teasing the beginnings of a script and his ambition to bring Frank Herbert’s second novel, “Dune Messiah,” to cinematic life. It’s expected that the third film will draw heavily from “Dune Messiah,” wrapping up the trilogy with a story that Chalamet himself has hinted at in a past interview.
Herbert wrote four more Dune novels before his passing, with several more spinoffs, prequels, and sequels written by his son and Kevin J. Anderson. However, Villeneuve shared in an interview with Time that “Dune Messiah should be the last Dune movie for me.” The director believes that a trilogy would be more than enough to conclude his adaptation.
One of the main actors of the franchise, Zendaya, who portrays Chani of the Fremen, also expressed her desire to return in the threequel in an interview with Fandango.
“Would we be down? I mean of course. Any time Denis (Villeneuve) calls, it’s a yes from me. I’m excited to see what happens. […] It’s so much to take in, but there’s no better hands with better care and love for it than Denis,” said the 25-year-old actress.
In addition to announcing the thrilling news of “Dune 3,” it was revealed that Villeneuve has another ambitious project lined up: “Nuclear War: A Scenario,” an adaptation of Annie Jacobsen’s Pulitzer Prize finalist book of the same name.
According to Deadline, “The book explores a ticking-clock scenario about what would happen in the event of a nuclear war, based on dozens of exclusive new interviews with military and civilian experts who built the weapons and have been privy to the response plans and have been responsible for those decisions should they need to be made.”
