Dune 3 rumor: A new report suggests WB has signed Timothée Chalamet for a third film

A spicy rumor about the Dune film franchise is rising from the sands of Arrakis. Industry insider Daniel Richtman said that Warner Bros had signed Timothée Chalamet for Dune 3. While this is not a confirmation of production plans for another movie in Denis Villeneuve’s presentation of Dune, it’s not the first time we’ve heard rumblings that a third film is a possibility.

Previously, Dune writer Jon Spaihts confirmed a third film could happen. “There are a few tantalizing strands that lead into the future and suggest that we might not be done in this universe, despite the fact that the ending of ‘Dune’ as a novel, which will be the ending of the second film, is a very satisfying conclusion,” Spaihts told The Playlist early last year. “There are a number of ways in which the book also sounds ominous notes, and there are hints of foreboding about what made be yet to come.”

Spaihts wrote Dune: Part Two in addition to the Dune television spinoff Dune: The Sisterhood, which will focus on the Bene Gesserit, a religious and magical order of “witches” within the Dune canon. While Villeneuve only planned to shoot two films, Dune author Frank Herbert’s Dune Messiah could be the subject of a third film.

“Dune Messiah is the next book, and it’s one of three books with ‘Dune,’ ‘Dune Messiah,’ and ‘Children of Dune,’ that covers the lives of the characters we meet in the first novel. Subsequently, there’s a giant leap in time and the series gets stranger and more epic as it carries on. But ‘Dune Messiah’ picks up years after the close of ‘Dune,’ and yes, Denis has talked seriously about making that film as well, as a conclusion of the trilogy.”

Scripted by Villeneuve, Eric Roth, and Jon Spaihts, Dune: Part One introduced viewers to Paul Atreides, “a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding,” who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence – a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential – only those who can conquer their fear will survive. 

Coming to us from Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment, Dune: Part Two will explore “the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.”

Timothée Chalamet stars as Paul and is joined in the cast by fellow returning Dune: Part One cast members Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Josh Brolin, as well as new additions Austin Butler, Tim Blake Nelson, Christopher Walken, Florence Pugh, Souheila Yacoub, and Léa Seydoux.

Villeneuve produces Dune: Part Two with Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe, and Patrick McCormick. Spaihts serves as executive producer alongside Josh Grode, Herbert W. Gains, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, Kim Herbert, Thomas Tull, Richard P. Rubinstein, and John Harrison. Kevin J. Anderson is a creative consultant.

Do you think Villeneuve will direct Dune: Part Three? Will Dune: Part Two end on a cliffhanger? Let us know in the comments below if you believe the rumor about Chalamet signing on for another Dune film.