One book, two movies, and the third installment from parts of the second book of Frank Herbert's interstellar opus are on the way. Fortunately, for the fans who have poured $1.122B into Warner Bros.' and Legendary's coffers, Denis Villeneuve thinks we haven't seen anything yet.
Critical acclaim. Fandom frenzy. Box-office dominance. An impressive array of award nominations sprinkled with some major wins. In an exclusive report with Deadline last October, Villeneuve has "announced" it is time for his "deep" navigation of Herbert's second of six books, Dune: Messiah. This will be the focus of Denis Villeneuve's last of "his" trilogy.
The crux of Dune: Messiah is a conspiracy from within. That's all we're saying here. Needless to say, 2026 can't get here fast enough. As for production time, Villeneuve told Deadline that he's "[going] back behind the camera faster than I think." When he finally gets there, what can we expect? How will this end the trilogy? And where do we go from here since Frank Herbert wrote four other books?!
Prophesying what could happen with Dune: Messiah
If you are enraptured with the boundless universe that Frank Herbert created within the pages of his first book, Dune: Messiah explores what's left. And it will require all our attention and fascination. Denis Villeneuve said he plans to "finish the Paul Atreides arc." That could happen in 2026. Back to that report, Villeneuve said, "These movies take a lot of time to be made, so it’s best not to say out loud when I might shoot."
What does shooting Dune: Messiah entail? Your pals at Bam Smack Pow have some ideas but be forewarned if you haven't read the book...
...if you haven't read the book, MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD!
Time
From the moment when Paul wallops the Harkonnens and wages Jihad on the other Great Houses, he learns about himself as much as he does about becoming Emperor. There is no mistaking he is the Kwisatz Haderach, the Li'san al Gaib. When we crack open the pages of Dune: Messiah, 12 years have passed. Fortunately, Villeneuve told "Vanity Fair" about filming time gaps, "That's my problem. I know how to do that."
Genocide
One of the saddening moments of Dune: Messiah is what becoming the Kwisatz Haderach has created. The universe is full of people who want to serve Paul. And many more who do not. This religious fervor for knowledge of the Universe's Messiah has created a groundswell of maddening zealots who have "cleansed" the world of 61 billion people. Yes, that's going to weigh on a guy. Much of the script should focus on the internal twists that occur within Paul's life.
Conspiracy
The subplot of the film may be about the burden Paul experiences for the universal Jihad, but the main focus of Dune: Messiah is the aftermath of following the murder of this guy, his uncle, and the former Emperor. All the political houses want revenge. They envy his power. And hate his popularity. Frank Herbert was a scholarly guy, so if this story starts to sound like Julius Caesar, it should. "Brutus" comes from within Paul's inner circle. (No, we're not sharing who does what.)
Her
Denis Villeneuve has said Dune: Messiah is his last appearance within the Frank Herbert universe. It may be someone else's too. Among everything else, Paul is confronted with in the past two films and close to 20 years, he needs to confront Chani with the way he left to begin the Jihad. She is not his biggest fan at the moment, but later in the years, Paul does have Children of Dune. That's the third book about Paul's twin children, Leto and Ghanima Atreides. And that book absolutely needs to be adapted to whoever Denis Villeneuve hands his torch to.
Most of the cast from the first films are scheduled to appear in Dune: Messiah or Dune 3. That includes Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, Léa Seydoux as Lady Margot Fenring, Charlotte Rampling as Reverend Mother Mohiam, Javier Bardem as Stilgar, Anya Taylor-Joy as Alia Atreides, and the aforementioned Zendaya as Chani.
Stay tuned.