Denis Villeneuve Confirms 'Dune 3' Script Is "Almost Finished"

In a recently press conference for Dune: Part Two in South Korea, director Denis Villeneuve shared with fans that the sequel is a “much better” film than the original 2021 one. Set to arrive in March 2024 which will once again star Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet, the story picks up from the events of Paul Atreides as he leads the Fremen into a battle against the Harkonnen empire.

During the event Villeneuve teased, “For me, this film is much better than Part One. There’s something more alive in it. There’s a relationship to the characters. I was trying to reach for an intensity and a quality of emotions that I didn’t reach with Part One and that I did reach with Part Two. I’m not saying the film is perfect, but I’m much more happy with Part Two than I was with Part One. I can not wait to share it with the fans and the moviegoers.” While drumming up suspense for the second film, he also reiterated his desire to do a third film in the franchise.

The third Dune film is slated to be based off of Frank Herbert’s follow-up novel, Dune Messiah. He told South Korean press that currently the script for Dune Messiah is “being written right now. The screenplay is almost finished but it is not finished. It will take a little time…There’s a dream of making a third movie…it would make absolute sense to me.” He noted that the first and second films were made one after the other, “There was no gap.” Villeneuve spoke about when the third film might arrive, appearing to want to take a break before moving forward, “I don’t know exactly when I will go back to Arrakis. I might make a detour before just to go away from the sun. For my mental sanity I might do something in between, but my dream would be to go a last time on this planet that I love.”

Dune: Part Two is set to release on March 1, 2024.