Dune: Part Three is set to be the final chapter of Denis Villeneuve’s big-budget sci-fi adaptation, and watching the new trailer, it’s clear he’s aiming for something epic.
The movie, based on Frank Herbert’s genre-defining series of novels, stars Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, hero of the planet Arrakis, alongside Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, Isaach de Bankolé, Charlotte Rampling, Anya Taylor-Joy, Robert Pattinson, and Javier Bardem.
In this new look at the film, there’s the strong implication that Villeneuve will be deviating from the books and not killing off Zendaya’s Chani in childbirth — instead, she’s set up as one of the figures fighting against Paul as he becomes more powerful than ever before. The return of Momoa as a clone of his character from the first film is just one of the other wild touches hinted at here.
The first two films, Dune and Dune: Part Two, were critically acclaimed blockbusters, and Part Three may well achieve the same heights. However, there are two epic battles unfolding on the film’s release day: The one on the screen, and the one at the box office, as Warner Bros. and Disney cross their fingers in hopes that Dune and Avengers: Doomsday can create an Barbenheimer-esque moment. (“Dunesday” being the obvious portmanteau.)
Should audiences only have an appetite for one very long genre saga, the waning interest in the MCU may well mean that Dune: Part Three has the advantage on December 18th, 2026. The first two films, Dune and Dune: Part Two, were critically acclaimed blockbusters that received multiple Oscar nominations, and Part Three may well achieve the same heights.
Check out the newest trailer below, and for more, revisit why this movie could be one of the weirdest films of the year, depending on how faithful Villeneuve stays to the books (beyond the Chani thing). Both of the previous movies are also available on 4K now via Amazon.
