Denis Villeneuve’s final Dune film has dropped its first set of posters, with the trailer to follow up soon.
2024’s Dune: Part Two seemed to be a smash hit amongst most, so what will this one have in store?
Film News Blitz‘s Oscar Trinick takes a look.
What is this an adaptation of?
The first two films of Villeneuve’s trilogy cover just the first of Frank Herbert’s series of sci-fi novels: Dune.
This third part is rumoured to be an adaptation of the second book, Dune Messiah, with some saying it could dip its toes into the third book, Children of Dune, but that is still only light gossip.
Whilst this Villeneuve Dune story will seemingly end here, as the posters are branded with the tagline ‘The epic conclusion’, Herbert wrote six novels in total.
They are: Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune.
It is unclear whether another director will pick up the reins after Villeneuve beyond this entry, but the marketing suggests it is unlikely. They want this as the conclusion.
What can be expected of ‘Dune: Part Three’
The second book, Dune Messiah, is set 12 years after the end of the first book. Expect Denis to follow this initial synopsis, but like his adaptation of the first novel, don’t be surprised if things are changed.
In that time that has passed, Emperor Paul Atreides has unleashed a religious jihad, killing 61 billion people across the known universe.
This dark, smaller-scale entry is an inversion of the first novel, as we see Paul battle to stop his visions from becoming reality, as an outside group plots to overthrow his rule.
Paul receives a clone gift of an old friend from a group called the Tleilaxu, as this sets off the chain of events for the narrative to follow.
The cast
Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Javier Bardem and Rebecca Ferguson are all returning as their respective characters: Paul, Chani, Princess Irulan, Stilgar, and Lady Jessica.
Anya Taylor-Joy is also returning in a much bigger role as Alia Atreides in comparison to her role in Dune: Part Two.
The biggest cast addition, though, is Robert Pattinson as the face-changing Scytale.
Jason Momoa also returns as the clone, Hayt, in the image of his old character, Duncan Idaho.
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