Denis Villeneuve confirms Dune 3 is being written but says “it’s not like a trilogy”

We’re accustomed to trilogies saving their biggest and best for the final installment (to varying effect), but if you’re expecting Dune 3 to be an action-packed finale to the Dune trilogy, you might be disappointed. While speaking on Vanity Fair’s Little Gold Men podcast, director Denis Villeneuve made sure to note that he doesn’t view Dune 3 as the completion of a trilogy.

“First, it’s important that people understand that for me, it was really a diptych,” Villeneuve said. “It was really a pair of movies that will be the adaptation of the first book. That’s done and that’s finished. If I do a third one, which is in the writing process, it’s not like a trilogy. It’s strange to say that, but if I go back there, it’s to do something that feels different and has its own identity.“

Dune 3 will be based on Dune Messiah, which puts more of a focus on conspiracy and political maneuvering. Although it continues the story set up in the first two Dune movies, it is a different beast. Villeneuve was able to accomplish something remarkable with the Dune movies, so I’m eager to witness the next stage of this story. It does sound as though Dune Messiah will be the director’s last journey to Arrakis, but he added that he’s more than fine with another director (or directors) continuing the saga.

“Listen, if ‘Dune: Messiah’ happens, it will have been many years for me on Arrakis, and I would love to do something else,” he said. “I think that it would be a good idea for me to make sure that, in ‘Messiah,’ there are the seeds in the project if someone wants to do something else afterwards, because they are beautiful books. They are more difficult to adapt. They become more and more esoteric. It’s a bit more tricky to adapt, but I’m not closing the door. I will not do it myself, but it could happen with someone else.“

While we patiently await Dune Messiah, we do have another Dune project to look forward to with Dune: Prophecy. The six-episode series will be set “10,000 years prior to the events of Dune and follows the Harkonnen Sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind, and establish the fabled sect known as the Bene Gesserit.” It will be “told through the eyes of a mysterious order of women known as the Bene Gesserit. Given extraordinary abilities by their mastery of the body and the mind, the Bene Gesserit expertly weave through the feudal politics and intrigue of The Imperium, pursuing plans of their own that will ultimately lead them to the enigmatic planet Arrakis, known to its inhabitants as Dune.“

The series stars Emily Watson as Valya Harkonnen, leader of the sisterhood, Olivia Williams as Tula Harkonnen, Valya’s sister, Jodhi May as Empress Natalya, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina as Princess Ynez, Shalom Brune-Franklin as Mikaela, Faoileann Cunningham as Sister Jen, Aoife Hinds as Sister Emeline, Chloe Lea as Lila, Travis Fimmel as Desmond Hart, Mark Strong as Emperor Javicco Corrino, Jade Anouka as Sister Theodosia, and Chris Manson as Keiran Atreides. Dune: Prophecy will debut on Max and HBO in November 2024.