2026 Officially Marks The End Of An Era For The Best Modern Sci-Fi Franchise By Repeating A Space Opera Tragedy

1 week ago 9

Published Apr 15, 2026, 5:20 PM EDT

Felipe Rangel is a Movie and TV Journalist ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more.

Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics."

Sci-Fi fans better get ready for one of the biggest movies to ever come from the genre, as this massive 2026 release is set to fundamentally change the best modern Sci-Fi franchise by repeating one of the saddest twists space operas have ever seen. At the time of writing, 2026's Sci-Fi movies have found success both on the big and small screens.

In 2026, the biggest overall Sci-Fi franchise returns, as a new Star Wars movie will be released in theaters for the first time since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker had a controversial run in 2019. It is up to Pedro Pascal's The Mandalorian & Grogu to kickstart a new era for the Star Wars franchise in theaters with its May 22 release date.

That said, in recent years, the Star Wars franchise has faltered. The role of the best modern Sci-Fi franchise has gone to Denis Villeneuve's Dune, which now spans both movies and a TV show. As 2026 sees the director's trilogy come to an end with Dune: Part Three, it will do so with an arc that changes its main character and is similar to a successful Star Wars story, teasing how it could land with viewers.

Dune: Part Three Changes Paul Atreides' Status

In the first two Dune movies, Timothée Chalamet's Paul Atreides was clearly on a hero's journey. Viewers followed as Paul lost his father, loved ones, and his home in 2021's Dune, as well as how he fought back to become a leader and retake control of Arrakis in 2024's Dune: Part Two. Now, 2026's Dune: Part Three will make Paul a cautionary tale, not a hero to look up to.

In the first Dune: Part Three trailer, Paul is fully occupied with the Holy War he started, and based on the Dune books, it is known that the state of the universe has changed for the worse during his leadership. At 2026's CinemaCon, where ScreenRant was in attendance, Chalamet claimed that Paul has "become his worst vision," which is "an all-powerful emperor of the dark universe."

Dune: Part Three's Paul Atreides Change Repeats A Star Wars Success

Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker in Ahsoka

Paul's fall from grace, as explained by Chalamet and teased in the Dune: Part Three trailer, is not something new for Sci-Fi movie fans. After all, the biggest Sci-Fi franchise of all, Star Wars, had a very similar storyline with Anakin Skywalker. The Star Wars prequels' best aspect was the journey that took Hayden Christensen's Anakin from the galaxy's salvation to a force for darkness.

Like Anakin, Paul was also deemed a "Chosen One" in the Dune franchise, only to become lost in his Holy War, as is teased for Dune: Part Three. Given how well Anakin's storyline was received by Star Wars fans, Paul Atreides going from a charismatic messiah to a tortured and lost leader has a chance of landing well with fans despite being a tragedy that marks the end of an era.