‘Dune’ Returns With First ‘Part 3’ Trailer

Denis Villeneuve always planned to turn Frank Herbert’s epic science-fiction novel Dune into two movies. Thankfully, the first Dune — which adapted just the first half of Herbert’s book — did well enough in theaters and on streaming that Warner Bros. agreed to fund Dune: Part Two. That film adapted the second half of the story.

So here is … Dune: Part Three?

Yes, technically, this is all part of the same grander Dune story. But if you want to get technical, Villeneuve’s Part Three adapts the second book in Herbert’s Dune series, Dune Messiah. It still features the same terrific cast from the prior two films though, including Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, Zendaya as Chani, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, Josh Brolin as Gurney, Javier Bardem as Stilgar, and Jason Momoa back from the dead as Duncan Idaho.

The biggest new addition to the cast for the third film is Robert Pattinson, playing a new character involved in a plot to assassinate Paul, who, following the events of Dune: Part Two, has become the Emperor of the universe. (Somehow, Paul Atreides returned in Dune: Part Three.)

Here’s the film’s first teaser trailer:

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Here are all the new official images from the movie.

And here is the third Dune’s official synopsis:

Directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Villeneuve and Brian K. Vaughan, Dune: Part Three is based on the novel Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert and delivers the epic conclusion to Villeneuve’s trilogy. The film stars Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, Isaach De Bankolé, with Charlotte Rampling, with Anya Taylor-Joy, and Robert Pattinson, and Javier Bardem, and features newcomers Nakoa-Wolf Momoa and Ida Brooke.

Dune: Part Three is scheduled to open in theaters on December 18. All the marketing bills this as the epic conclusion of the story. But really Dune: Part Two was the conclusion of the story. This is the start of the next story. And Frank Herbert wrote a lot of Dune books.