Though there’s still no official release date, Dune fans have long assumed director Denis Villeneuve is readying production on the third film in the sci-fi series. Some casting news a few weeks back helped strengthen that notion—and now we have a title locked in. Surprisingly, it’s not Dune Messiah, in keeping with Frank Herbert’s source-material novel. It’s… drum roll… Dune: Part Three.
According to Variety, Dune: Part Three is still expected to release in December 2026, the slot previously reserved for an “event movie” from the director by Warner Bros. At the time, the given date of December 18, 2026, conflicted with an unnamed Star Wars project that has since been removed—but is now the release date for a little movie called Avengers: Doomsday. So it’s anyone’s guess if Dune: Part Three will remain in place. (Lest we forget, Dune: Part Two shifted release dates a few times and was still a massive hit.)
The Variety piece also notes that while some sequences in Dune: Part Three will be filmed using IMAX cameras, the whole film will not be shot in the format, as had been suggested by IMAX CEO Paul Gelfond. That means Christopher Nolan’s currently in production The Odyssey will remain the only film entirely shot using IMAX cameras, at least until the next ambitious filmmaker takes the plunge. (Perhaps it’ll still be Villeneuve, once he shifts gears to start work on his James Bond movie?)
The trade notes that Dune: Part Three is expected to begin filming “imminently,” with Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya returning to star. Jason Momoa, absent from Part Two, is also back in the cast.