How Dune: Part Two Sets Up a Third Film

Dune: Part Two has been in theaters for nearly a week now, and its massive science fiction epic has already earned quite a lot of hype and money at the box office. Dune: Part Two is the second feature film installment directed by Denis Villeneuve, and as diehard fans know, it has only begun to scratch the surface of Frank Herbert’s source material.

While a third Dune film has yet to be officially greenlit by Warner Bros., a number of cast and crew members have hinted at it being a genuine possibility — and the ending of Part Two definitely helps lay that groundwork. Obviously, spoilers for Dune: Part Two lurk below! Only look if you want to know!

How Does Dune: Part Two End?

Dune: Part Two culminates in Paul Atredies (Timothée Chalamet) leading his assault on Emperor Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken) and the Harkonnens, in hopes of freeing the Fremen and controlling the flow of Spice across the galaxy. After killing Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) and challenging the Emperor for the throne, Paul successfully beats Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (Austin Butler) in combat.

The Emperor relinquishes control to Paul and agrees to his daughter Irulan (Florence Pugh) marrying him, the latter action causing Chani (Zendaya) to leave the Fremen and ride a sandworm far away from Arrakeen in the final few minutes of the film. Paul is then told that the other Great Houses do not recognize his ascendancy, and he begins to enact a holy war against them. 

How Does Dune: Part Two Set Up Dune 3?

A third movie, tentatively titled Dune Messiah after Herbert’s book of the same name, could easily pick up on this wide array of plot points. For starters, Part Two ends on a bit of a cliffhanger ending, only beginning to hint at Paul’s attack against the Great Houses. Herbert’s Messiah is set twelve years after the events of the first book, as Paul’s reign has massively changed the galaxy and resulted in the death of billions. Although that time jump might add a bit of a wrinkle to when and how a Messiah movie becomes a reality, it does provide an interesting footing for us to revisit the characters. For starters, Messiah adds an even more sinister connotation to Paul’s status as the Fremen’s Lisan al Gaib, as he begins to regret the control he has had over the Fremen since the events of Part Two, and the carnage that has resulted from it.

The love triangle of sorts between Paul, Irulan, and Chani also becomes an important factor of the text of Messiah — something that Villeneuve takes an interesting approach to, by having her leave Paul and the Fremen altogether in the end of Part Two. There’s a chance that a Messiah movie could take Chani out of the picture entirely, or could have her return in a completely different context from the source material. There’s also Part Two‘s very brief flash-forward sequence, showing a grown-up version of Paul’s sister, Alia Atredies (Anya Taylor-Joy) on an Arrakis that has successfully been terraformed with water. Without getting into too specific of spoilers, Alia becomes a significant character in Messiah, so fans can definitely expect to see Taylor-Joy reprise her role in the third film, if and when it becomes a reality.

What did you think of Dune: Part Two? Do you hope a third film becomes a reality? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!