Denis Villeneuve will be back in the director’s chair for Dune 3.
Variety reports that Villeneuve and Legendary Entertainment are in early development on the next Dune installment expected to be based on Frank Herbert‘s Dune: Messiah. Before the director returns to Arrakis, however, Villeneuve will work with the studio on an adaptation of Annie Jacobsen’s Nuclear War: A Scenario. The non-fiction book “explores a ticking-clock scenario about what would happen in the event of a nuclear war.”
Villeneuve comes off the heels of the Dune franchise’s massive success with critics and audiences. Starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, 2021’s Dune earned $402 million worldwide despite having a day-and-date release on HBO Max. The recent installment Dune: Part Two has made over $630 million worldwide and currently stands as 2024’s top-grossing movie to date.
Legendary CEO Josh Grode recently confirmed Dune 3’s development as the studio awaits a finished script from Villeneuve. “I think this is a movie where you know the word of mouth is going to carry it. It is a stupendous piece of filmmaking. There’s no other way to say it. I’ve just about run out of adjectives,” Grode said in an interview with CNBC. “We have to have all creative stakeholders aligned and support the vision. I think everybody is very excited and really enjoying this moment and if Denis [Villeneuve] gets the script right and he feels that he can deliver another experience on par with what we’ve just completed then I don’t see why not.”
What happens in Dune: Messiah?
While Villeneuve previously stated that Dune and Dune: Part Two tell a “complete” story, the director teased how the events of Dune: Messiah could set up more stories for the franchise’s future. “All of the elements are there,” Villeneuve said. “But I think the movie adaptation is more tragic than the book. The way that Part Two ends…it would create a total balance and equilibrium to finish Paul’s storyline in what we could say in Part Three.”
Villeneueve’s Dune is currently streaming on Max. Dune: Part Two is now playing in theaters.
