Dune Director Teases Filming Could Start Sooner Than Anyone Thought

Dune: Part Two was only released earlier this year, and while director Denis Villeneuve has often teased how he aimed to take a bit of a break from the franchise before filming an adaptation of Dune Messiah, the filmmaker now teased he could potentially start shooting in 2025. Villeneuve did confirm, though, that the lengthy process of developing such a project could mean that it might have to wait until 2026. With more than a decade having passed between the events of Frank Herbert’s original Dune novel and its sequel Dune Messiah, Villeneuve still has plenty of time to craft a project worthy of its predecessors.

While speaking with Deadline, Villeneuve teased the late 2025 or early 2026 shooting date, while noting, “These movies take a lot of time to be made, so it’s best not to say out loud when I might shoot.” After getting a glance from his publicist, the filmmaker joked, “Unfortunately, I’m supposed to shut up.”

He continued, “Let’s say… that I thought that after Part Two that I will take a break, that I will go back in the woods and stay in the woods for a while to recover. But the woods weren’t really suiting me, and I would go back behind the camera faster than I think. But that’s all I can say.”

The sprawling nature of the original Dune novel has made it a difficult project to adapt. David Lynch first made a feature film inspired by the project back in 1984, and while it earned a passionate cult following over the years, it was considered a disappointment upon its debut, largely due to how dense of a narrative Lynch tried to depict in the two-hour run time. The narrative was subsequently brought to life as miniseries, and while they managed to chronicle the intricate plot points more accurately, they lacked the same production value as a major motion picture.

Ahead of the release of Dune, audiences were aware that the first film would only adapt the first half of the novel. The coronavirus pandemic first saw Dune delayed from 2020 to 2021, while Warner Bros. also made the decision to release its 2021 slate of movies both in theaters and on HBO Max on the same day. Villeneuve was one of the biggest critics of the decision, as he knew this would impact his film’s box-office haul and potentially compromise the possible sequel. Luckily, Dune: Part Two moved forward and was a hit with both audiences and critics alike.

Villeneuve reiterated, however, that his first two movies were two halves of one complete story and what he does with Messiah will take audiences by surprise.

“Like Herbert did with Dune Messiah, I think it’ll be a great idea to do something completely different. The story takes place like 12 years after where we left the characters at the end of Part Two,” the filmmaker detailed. “Their journey, their story is different this time, and that’s why I always say that while it’s the same world it’s a new film with new circumstances … [Messiah] will finish the Paul Atreides arc.”

Messiah won’t be entirely disconnected from the first two films, as he’s hoping to bring back Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, Zendaya as Chani, Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, and Anya Taylor-Joy as Alia Atreides.

Stay tuned for updates on Dune Messiah.

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