The highly anticipated Dune Messiah might be the third Dune film from director Denis Villeneuve, but that doesn’t make it a trilogy in the director’s eyes. Many considered Frank Herbert’s classic Dune novel unfilmable, an opinion validated by the failure of David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation. Villeneuve took a page from the recent It films and split the first book into two parts, with Dune opening in theaters on October 22, 2021, and Dune: Part Two on March 1, 2024. Both films were hits with audiences and critics, and now all eyes are on Dune Messiah, the third movie in the Dune franchise and an adaptation of the second book in the series.
Despite being the third movie, Villeneuve does not see his upcoming film as the third part of a trilogy, as he mentioned during an interview with Vanity Fair. He counts the two previous Dune movies as one story like the book, comparing them to a diptych, which in art consists of two pieces or panels that together create a single piece. While from a marketing standpoint, Dune might be sold as a trilogy, for him, his Dune adaptations are two distinct stories, with one being split across two films.
“It’s important that people understand that for me, it was really a diptych. It was really a pair of movies that will be the adaptation of the first book. That’s done and that’s finished. If I do a third one, which is in the writing process, it’s not like a trilogy. It’s strange to say that, but if I go back there, it’s to do something that feels different and has its own identity.”
Dune and Dune Again
While Villeneuve claiming Dune isn’t a trilogy might seem arbitrary, there is precedent for it. Despite Kill Bill being released in two parts, director Quentin Tarantino only counts it as one film, which is why he is allowed to make one more film before he retires, according to his own 10-film rule. Villeneuve’s decision to split Dune into two parts might have been the key to the franchise’s long-term success as it allowed him to take his time and truly set up the complex world of Frank Herbert’s original novel. This decision also speaks to a criticism of his Dune films, specifically the first movie. While praised, one critique was that, despite a runtime of over two hours, Dune features a lot of setup, and the point at which it ends truly only feels like half of a movie. Much of the marketing for Dune promoted big, epic set pieces taken from visions of scenes that don’t happen until Dune: Part Two.
Villeneuve is currently working on the script for Dune Messiah. There is no word on when the film will come out, but Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures do have a 2026 release date saved that many suspect is for Dune Messiah. Given the three-year gap between Dune and Dune: Part Two, three years until Dune Messiah seems like a fair guess. It will be interesting to see if Warner Bros. Discovery decides to release the film under the book title, or if they’ll re-title it to Dune: Part Three.