Everything we know about Dune: Messiah

We are House Space. There is no call we do not answer, especially when it's news about the upcoming Dune: Messiah movie, aka Dune: Part Three.

Following Dune: Part Two's grand spectacle and high-stakes drama – which led to wide critical acclaim and hefty box office profits – Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary are quickly moving on to prepare the previously teased adaptation of Dune: Messiah, the sequel to the book Dune. Here you'll find everything we know about Dune: Messiah so far.

As far as fans and the press know, filmmaker Denis Villeneuve isn't interested in doing more than three Dune movies. Frank Herbert diehards know that the novels get more and more difficult to approach as the saga continues, and that's without even getting into the work of his son, Brian Herbert. Yet, Paul Atreides' big character arc could be satisfactorily wrapped up with a third installment that smartly adapts Messiah, a far leaner (but very different) book than the first one.

Canadian writer-director Villeneuve has successfully brought to life everything that is fascinating about Herbert's original story in a big way. However, Messiah's material is much more political, kooky, and nuanced, and comes with an entirely different set of challenges as a sci-fi book to movie adaptation. That said, most of us won't start doubting Villeneuve and his top-notch team of creatives now. Let the man cook, we say.

Beyond Villeneuve's Dune movies, sci-fi fans should be celebrating the franchise's current renaissance of sorts, which includes Dune: Prophecy (a prequel series from HBO) and the ambitious MMO video game Dune: Awakening. Need to catch up? Check out our comprehensive Dune streaming guide.

Dune: Messiah release date

• Possibly December 18, 2026

While Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures have yet to confirm whether Denis Villeneuve's next movie for them will indeed be Dune: Messiah, all the buzz is pointing to that being the case after Part Two's massive success.

Back in late June 2024, Warner Bros. and Legendary also set a Christmas 2026 release date for Villeneuve's next "event film" (also set for IMAX screens). We haven't heard confirmation yet that Messiah is next for him, especially with Nuclear War, Cleopatra, and Rendezvous with Rama also lined up, but it appears he's already hard at work on the script, so make of that what you will.

Recent reports on Dune: Messiah’s production schedule have been conflicting, but right now, it seems that Warner Bros. and Legendary are still targeting a summer 2025 start for the massive production. Should script or scheduling issues arise, this could change, thus threatening a late 2026 release.

If Dune: Messiah is indeed Villeneuve's next movie and the current plans stick, the release date that's currently on Warner Bros. and Legendary's theatrical schedule is December 18, 2026. An untitled Star Wars movie used to occupy that same slot (now taken by Ice Age 6), but Disney has removed it as Lucasfilm continues to work hard on its theatrical plans past The Mandalorian & Grogu, which hits in May 2026.

Dune: Messiah trailers

Even if Dune: Messiah shoots at some point in 2025 and continues to target a December 2026 theatre release, there won't be any official trailers nor stills to obsess over for a long while. Of course, we'll keep this article updated, so check back later.

What is the plot of Dune: Messiah?

Spoilers ahead for Dune: Part One and Two.

For the most part, Dune: Part One and Two remained close to the source material, yet Villeneuve and co-writer Jon Spaihts made a number of changes that will surely have big repercussions moving forward. Namely, Chani leaving Paul and his followers behind and riding off into Arrakis' desert after the Atreides heir becomes the next Emperor and starts a holy war.

Another big difference is that Paul's sister, Alia, isn't born during the course of the second movie. In the book, she's the one who kills the evil Baron Harkonnen. We do, however, see a future version of the character through one of Paul's visions, and she's played by Anya Taylor-Joy. In the books, there's a 12-year gap between Dune and its follow-up. Even if Alia rapidly grows up – like in the books – because she's a highly unnatural child, the small gap between Dune: Part Two and Messiah's production will force Villeneuve and his team to make a number of adjustments. Most likely making Paul Muad'Dib's holy crusade across the known universe much shorter and the characters not as grown-up when we next see them.

Without getting into major story spoilers here, as we're just trying to give you the basic premise of Messiah, the second book sees Paul attempting to end the fighting he started on Arrakis: he deals with political intrigue, infighting among his followers, and his rapidly deteriorating personal life. In the book, Chani plays the role of Paul's Fremen wife and legal concubine, and that will probably be another divergence point, since she outright rejected Paul and his holy war at the end of Villeneuve's Part Two.

Things get even stranger and more complex as new menaces enter the scene in an attempt to overthrow the Emperor. Don't forget that Paul Atreides had the ability to predict the future... sort of, thus making antagonistic moves against him rather difficult to execute. This is where a ghola (this universe's version of a "kinda like a clone but not") of the dead Duncan Idaho comes in, though things aren't as simple as they seem at first.

Dune: Messiah cast

Since Messiah is a direct continuation of Dune, expect all major players present in the book to return. That includes: Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, Anya Taylor-Joy as Alia Atreides, Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, Zendaya as Chani, Javier Bardem as Stilgar, and Charlotte Rampling as Gaius Helen Mohiam.

Other big characters that could show up despite only being briefly mentioned in the novel are Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin), and the former Emperor, Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken).

There's also the possibility of Villeneuve bringing back Stephen McKinley Henderson's Thufir Hawat and Tim Blake Nelson's unknown character, who both unfortunately didn't make the final cut for Dune: Part 2 due to the film's long length.

Same goes for Léa Seydoux's Lady Margot Fenrig, who isn't present in the source material for Messiah, but could still add to the big-screen adaptation.

More importantly, Jason Momoa would have to return as Duncan Idaho, since he plays a huge role in Messiah as a genetically engineered human (a ghola) that looks just like Paul's dead friend and even has some of his memories buried deep within. We highly doubt Momoa will be recast.

Dune: Messiah director, writers, & crew

Denis Villeneuve is locked to both direct and write the threequel, with Jon Spaihts' (Prometheus, Doctor Strange) involvement as co-writer up in the air but likely.

We're also expecting other big collaborators to return, such as composer Hans Zimmer for the musical score. However, certain creatives' schedules might conflict with the production dates the studio and the filmmaker go with, especially if the movie is indeed targeting a late 2026 release. For example, cinematographer Greig Fraser may or may not be back as The Batman: Part II shoot could be keeping him busy.