Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Three,” which started shooting in July, has officially wrapped production. That’s four months of filming for the final chapter.
Though early reports had referred to the project as “Dune: Messiah”—a direct reference to Frank Herbert’s 1969 novel on which the film is based—Warner Bros. recently confirmed the film’s title would follow a more straightforward numerical approach. This further hints that Villeneuve could be tackling not just “Messiah,” but also parts of the third book, “Children of Dune.”
Furthermore, Nakoa-Wolf Momoa and Ida Brooke recently joined the cast as Leto II and Ghanima, the children of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and Chani (Zendaya). Momoa and Brooke’s inclusion confirms recent rumors of a time jump in the upcoming sequel—one that would age the twins well beyond their original appearance as newborns at the end of “Dune: Messiah” and lead into its sequel, “Children of Dune.”
While plot details remain tightly under wraps, Villeneuve might only be adapting a couple of pages from ‘Children,’ or, if wildly ambitious, he could be reshaping the trilogy’s trajectory to explore the rise of Leto II and Ghanima. I’m betting it’s the former.
‘Dune: Part 3’ is also being shot on film, including 15-perf 65mm (IMAX) and 5-perf 65mm formats. The revelation came from Kodak, which recently shared the news. No doubt the film’s DP, Linus Sandgren, a major advocate of film over digital, may have somewhat swayed Villeneuve here.
This switch to film marks a significant departure from the first two Dune instalments, both of which were shot digitally. While those films had epic visual scope, they were still very much products of the digital era. With ‘Part Three,’ it seems Villeneuve is doubling down on a more organic aesthetic to close out his sci-fi trilogy.
“Dune: Part Three” is scheduled to be released on December 18, 2026. That’s the same day as “Avengers: Doomsday.” Do we have another “Barbenheimer” on our hands? “Dunesday?”
