Dune: Part Three: Release date, plot, cast & everything we know about Villeneuve's adaptation of Dune: Messiah

We are House Space. There is no call we do not answer, especially when it's news about the upcoming Dune: Part Three (aka Dune: Messiah)

Following Dune: Part Two's grand spectacle and high-stakes drama – which led to critical acclaim and hefty box office profits – Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary hit Part Three fast, keeping most of the same creative team around and shooting the movie in 2025. Here you'll find everything we know about Dune: Part Three so far.

As far as we know, filmmaker Denis Villeneuve isn't interested in doing more than three Dune movies. Frank Herbert diehards know that the novels get more and more difficult to approach as the saga continues, and that's without even getting into the work of his son, Brian Herbert. Yet, Paul Atreides' grand character arc could be satisfactorily wrapped up with a third installment that smartly adapts Messiah, a far leaner (but very different) book than the first one.

Canadian writer-director Villeneuve has successfully brought to life everything fascinating about Herbert's original story in a big way. However, Messiah's material is much more political, kooky, and nuanced, and comes with an entirely different set of challenges as a sci-fi book to movie adaptation. But if anyone can do it, it's Villeneuve and his top-notch team of creatives; let the man cook, we say.

Beyond Villeneuve's Dune movies, sci-fi fans should be celebrating the franchise's current renaissance of sorts, which includes Dune: Prophecy (a prequel series from HBO now preparing its second season) and the ambitious MMO video game Dune: Awakening. Need to catch up? Check out our comprehensive Dune streaming guide.

What is the release date for Dune: Part Three?

Dune: Part Three is scheduled to release on December 18, 2026.

Back in late June 2024, Warner Bros. and Legendary set a Christmas 2026 release date for Villeneuve's next "event film" (also set for IMAX screens). Though the studios moved quietly on the production and haven’t been super transparent about the process and what the release plans look like, we now know Dune: Part Three (it may not be called Messiah) has been shot and is targeting a Christmas 2026 release date.

That might be tricky to pull off with Avengers: Doomsday also setting up camp there, though, so don't be surprised if Warner Bros blinks and moves the release date.

How to watch Dune: Part Three

You can't, it's not out yet.

Barring any delays, Dune: Part Three will release on December 18, 2026, exclusively in theaters. As with the other two movies, we'd expect it to join HBO Max once the cinematic run is over, sometime in early 2027.

In the meantime, you can watch Dune: Part One and Dune Part Two, along with the prequel series Dune: Prophecy on HBO Max.

Watch Dune Part One, Part Two, & Prophecy on HBO Max:

Basic (Ads): $10.99/month or $109.99/year
Standard (No Ads): $18.49/month or $184.99/year
Premium (4K): $22.99/month or $229.99/year

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Is there a Dune: Part Three trailer?

While Dune: Part Three has finished filming now (barring any reshoots), it's still in post-production, and as such, we haven't had any trailers for it yet.

Of course, we'll keep this article updated, so check back later.

What is the plot of Dune: Part Three?

Spoilers ahead for Dune: Part One and Two.

For the most part, Dune: Part One and Two remained close to the source material, yet Villeneuve and co-writer Jon Spaihts made a number of changes that will surely have big repercussions moving forward. Namely, Chani leaving Paul and his followers behind and riding off into Arrakis' desert after the Atreides heir becomes the next Emperor and starts a holy war.

Another big difference is that Paul's sister, Alia, isn't born during the course of the second movie. In the book, she's the one who kills the evil Baron Harkonnen. We do, however, see a future version of the character through one of Paul's visions, and she's played by Anya Taylor-Joy. In the books, there's a 12-year gap between Dune and its follow-up. Even if Alia rapidly grows up – like in the books – because she's a highly unnatural child, the small gap between Dune: Part Two and Messiah's production will force Villeneuve and his team to make several adjustments. Most likely making Paul Muad'Dib's holy crusade across the known universe much shorter and the characters not as grown-up when we next see them.

Without getting into major story spoilers here, as we're just trying to give you the basic premise of Messiah, the second book sees Paul attempting to end the fighting he started on Arrakis: he deals with political intrigue, infighting among his followers, and his rapidly deteriorating personal life. In the book, Chani plays the role of Paul's Fremen wife and legal concubine, and that will probably be another divergence point, since she outright rejected Paul and his holy war at the end of Villeneuve's Part Two.

Things get even stranger and more complex as new menaces enter the scene in an attempt to overthrow the Emperor. Don't forget that Paul Atreides had the ability to predict the future... sort of, thus making antagonistic moves against him rather difficult to execute. This is where a ghola (this universe's version of a "kinda like a clone but not") of the dead Duncan Idaho comes in, though things aren't as simple as they seem at first.

Who is in the cast of Dune: Part Three?

Since Messiah is a direct continuation of Dune, expect all major players present in the book to return. That includes: Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, Anya Taylor-Joy as Alia Atreides, Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, Zendaya as Chani, Javier Bardem as Stilgar, and Charlotte Rampling as Gaius Helen Mohiam.

Other big characters that could show up despite only being briefly mentioned in the novel are Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin), and the former Emperor, Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken). Ferguson has confirmed she’s indeed in Part Three, but it sounds like her part is quite small.

There's also the possibility of Villeneuve bringing back Stephen McKinley Henderson's Thufir Hawat and Tim Blake Nelson's unknown character, who both unfortunately didn't make the final cut for Dune: Part 2 due to the film's immense length. The same goes for Léa Seydoux's Lady Margot Fenrig, who isn't present in the source material for Messiah, but could still add to the big-screen adaptation.

More importantly, Jason Momoa has confirmed his return as Duncan Idaho, since he plays a huge role in Messiah as a genetically engineered human (a ghola) that looks just like Paul's dead friend and even has some of his memories buried deep within.

Perhaps more surprising is the addition of Nakoa-Wolf Momoa (his son) and Silo’s Ida Brooke as Leto II and Ghanima, the twin offspring of Paul Atreides and Chani. Again, this has raised the question of how Villeneuve is tackling the two leads’ relationship after Part Two’s ending.

Last but not least, it’s now confirmed that Robert Pattinson has joined the cast in the major role of the antagonist Scytale, a Face Dancer of the Bene Tleilax plotting against Paul Atreides and those close to him.

Who are the director, writers, & crew for Dune: Part Three?

Denis Villeneuve is both directing and co-writing the threequel, with Jon Spaihts (Prometheus, Doctor Strange) involved once again as co-scribe.

We're also expecting other big collaborators to return, such as composer Hans Zimmer for the musical score. Sadly, Greig Fraser’s (cinematographer for the first two movies) busy schedule has kept him away from Part Three, though Linus Sandgreen (No Time to Die, Babylon) is an excellent replacement.