Denis Villeneuve’s Dune Plans Don’t Extend Past Messiah

Dune and Dune: Part Two director Denis Villeneuve has long been sharing that he has hopes to bring to life the next book in the Frank Herbert franchise, Dune: Messiah, but he recently expressed that his involvement in the franchise would culminate with that possible movie. While some creatives stake their long-term claims to beloved franchises in all their iterations, such as Peter Jackson with the worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien, Villeneuve looks to only be interested in the specific story of Paul Atreides, which largely culminates in Messiah. Dune: Part Two is set to hit theaters on March 1st.

“Dune: Messiah should be the last Dune movie for me,” Villeneuve confirmed to TIME.

Ahead of the release of Villeneuve’s first Dune, he explained that it only told the first half of the story chronicled in the original novel, and while the filmmaker had already earned acclaim for many of his previous projects, Warner Bros. didn’t confirm that the second half of the story would be adapted. Complicating matters was that, due to the coronavirus pandemic, Warner Bros. made the decision to debut their 2021 releases both in theaters and on HBO Max on the same day, which understandably cut into the potential profits of Dune.

Luckily, Dune proved to be a critical success and a modest financial victory, given the many factors impacting its total box office, and scored six Academy Awards. Warner Bros. would go on to confirm Dune: Part Two, and even with the success of the original movie and the anticipation surrounding Part Two, the studio hasn’t yet given a green light to Messiah.

Given that Messiah isn’t the second section of an overall story, there isn’t quite the same impetus to move forward on it as quickly as he developed Part Two. Back in 2023, Villeneuve admitted that he was uncertain if he would develop a different project before returning to the Dune franchise.

“I don’t know exactly when I will go back to Arrakis,” Villeneuve confessed during a press event. “I might make a detour before just to go away from the sun. For my mental sanity I might do something in between, but my dream would be to go a last time on this planet that I love.”    

Dune: Part Two is slated to hit theaters on March 1st.

Are you hoping we get Dune: Messiah? Let us know in the comments!