Dune: Part Three's Paul And Chani Story Teased By Director Denis Villeneuve

Warner Bros.

We've known since Denis Villeneuve commenced work on the first installment of the "Dune" saga that Frank Herbert's books were hugely important to his development as a thinker and an artist. He's not alone. The first novel alone has sold close to 20 million copies, attracting legions of new fans since its publication in 1965. While Herbert's first book failed to find box office success when David Lynch adapted it in 1984, and fell flat as a SyFy series in 2000, Villeneuve's passion for the material connected palpably with moviegoers in 2021 and again in 2024 with "Dune: Part Two."

This makes "Dune: Part Three" one of 2026's most anticipated films – in large part because this will be Villeneuve's swan song to the franchise. "Dune: Part Two" ended with Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) launching a holy war as a betrayed Chani (Zendaya) departs on a sandworm. He was a man transformed, but not for the better. What lies ahead for Paul and Chani in "Dune: Part Three?" According to Villeneuve, this will be the emotional crux of the film, which is both his favorite in Herbert's series and a very personal story for the director. For a director whose films have tended to be a tad chilly (save for, at least in my opinion, the sorrowful "Blade Runner 2049"), I'm curious to see what happens when he pours his heart into a movie. When he spoke at a trailer premiere event attended by /Film, he gave reporters a hint as to how this will all play out.

Warner Bros.

During the event, a reporter recalled Villeneuve saying that, in his adolescence, he'd worked up shot lists and illustrations for the "Dune" adaptation of his dreams. The filmmaker said none of these images will be seen in "Dune: Part Three," but he did discuss his affection for "Dune Messiah." Per Villeneuve, "It's a very dark book, beautiful book. And this time, it's all ... I will say this: It is one of my most personal films, if not my most personal film. So it's a film that is very close to me and very contemporary."

When asked to elaborate on this, Villeneuve had this to say:

"Because it tells the story, it's about the story of Paul and Chani, them struggling with their relationship, having the burden and incredible pressure from the world around them, and Paul having to find a way out of the cycle of violence. And there's something about the way their love endures time and the way their relationship evolves, that study on the relationship of both characters, that is very personal to me."

Villeneuve's first two "Dune" films are science fiction classics, so it's hard to imagine him whiffing on his farewell to the series. Performance-wise, this movie will ask a ton of Chalamet and Zendaya — particularly the latter, who could notch her first Academy Award nomination (for Best Actress) if she hits the mark. Judging from the just-released trailer for "Dune: Part Three," it's going to be emotionally fraught stuff, and I hate that I have to wait nine months to see it.