Legendary Entertainment has confirmed that Dune: Part 3 is now in the early stages of development following a new deal. Dune: Part 3 is expected to conclude the planned trilogy with Denis Villeneuve adapting Frank Herbert’s third book in the series, Dune: Messiah. The acclaimed director has previously said that he wanted to complete the main story of Paul Atreides as a trilogy.
Per Entertainment Weekly (in 2021):
“I always envisioned three movies,” Villeneuve told EW then. “It’s not that I want to do a franchise, but this is Dune, and Dune is a huge story. In order to honor it, I think you would need at least three movies. That would be the dream. To follow Paul Atreides and his full arc would be nice.”
However, he recently said in December 2023 that he’d need a break before tackling the third movie but it sounds like Legendary Entertainment is hoping to keep the train moving full steam ahead with the director helming multiple projects. Deadline has confirmed that Legendary Entertainment has signed a deal to adapt Annie Jacobsen‘s popular nonfiction book Nuclear War: A Scenario into a movie, a project which Villeneuve is expected to helm after completing the next installment.
Dune: Part 2 has made over $637 million in ticket sales and could bring in much more before completing its theatrical run. Villeneuve has also expressed his excitement about working with Florence Pugh (Princess Irulan) and Anya Taylor-Joy (Alia Atreides) for the next movie as their roles will play much larger parts in Dune: Messiah.
Per Entertainment Weekly:
“I would love to make Dune Messiah just to work with [Anya] and Florence more,” Villeneuve recently told EW. “Those actresses are so inspiring. They give me chills and the will to do another one.”
So now the only question to be answered is when the third movie will be made.