Dune Director Says Script for Third Film Is Almost Finished

Ahead of the release of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune in 2021, audiences knew that it would only be the first half of Frank Herbert’s original novel, and while Dune: Part Two will conclude the journey of Paul Atreides, Villeneuve has been teasing his interest in also developing an adaptation of Dune Messiah. During a recent press conference, Villeneuve confirmed that a script for the potential third film was quite far along, though he did admit that it’s not a certainty that the third film would be made, and that if he does make Dune Messiah, he’d likely take a longer break from the franchise than he did between the first two films. Dune: Part Two is set to hit theaters on March 1, 2024.

While speaking at a South Korean press conference, per Variety, Villeneuve admitted the script for Dune Messiah is “being written right now. The screenplay is almost finished but it is not finished. It will take a little time…There’s a dream of making a third movie…it would make absolute sense to me.”

Even though Villeneuve made it clear ahead of the first Dune that he aimed to develop a second film, the sequel wasn’t officially announced until after the debut entry was a proven success. In this sense, even if Villeneuve is interested in Messiah, it’s unknown when, or if, the third film would be announced. While Villeneuve has expressed interest in helming Messiah personally, it’s also possible he would step back and hand the reins over to another filmmaker.

“I don’t know exactly when I will go back to Arrakis,” Villeneuve confessed. “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.”  

This latest update echoes similar comments Villeneuve made earlier this year about how completing his trilogy would be based on the box office performance of Part Two.

“If I succeed in making a trilogy, that would be the dream,” Villeneuve shared with Empire Magazine in August. “Dune Messiah was written in reaction to the fact that people perceived Paul Atreides as a hero. Which is not what he wanted to do. My adaptation [of Dune] is closer to his idea that it’s actually a warning.”   

Dune: Part Two is set to hit theaters on March 1, 2024.

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