Another ‘Dune’ movie is ‘in the works,’ but Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya don’t know how it all ends

By Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN

(CNN) — “Dune: Part Two” spiced up the box office with a $81.5 million opening weekend, becoming the biggest film, so far, of 2024.

With success, often comes sequels — and in the case of “Dune,” director Denis Villeneuve has made it no secret that he hopes to complete his storytelling with a trilogy.

On the press tour for “Part Two,” Villeneuve said that his vision is to adapt a third film from Frank Hebert’s second novel, “Dune Messiah.” (“Dune,” released in 2021, and “Dune: Part Two” were both based off of Hebert’s original book with Villeneuve making the creative decision to split the novel into two parts.)

Speaking to CNN, Villeneuve said that his third film is already in the works, although it has not been officially greenlit.

“I signed for two movies at the beginning,” Villeneuve said. “I felt when finally the movie finished with ‘Part Two,’ I felt like, ‘Okay, I did it.’ But I would love [and] I think it would make sense to me to totally finish Paul Atreides’ arc by doing ‘Dune Messiah,’ and it’s in the works right now.”

Atreides is played by Timothée Chalamet in the film series. He stars opposite Zendaya and an A-list cast rounded out by Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, Lea Seydoux, Christopher Walken and Anya Taylor-Joy.

Distributor Warner Bros. (which shares the same parent company as CNN) has not announced any plans for a third “Dune” — yet. But with the box office performance and critical praise, it seems likely that Villeneuve’s dream will come true.

“Nothing official,” Chalamet told CNN when asked about a third film, weeks before “Part Two” was released in theaters. “The rule is, I think, this would have to be successful,” Chalamet added, with a laugh. “Knock on wood. Fingers crossed.”

Warner Bros. declined comment on a possible third firm when contacted by CNN.

However, Mary Parent, chairman of worldwide production at Legendary, which produces the franchise, and a producer on “Dune” and “Dune: Part Two,” told CNN that the company hopes to produce a third film.

“The focus right now is still on supporting the successful launch of this film, but we certainly hope and dream,” Parent said.

Reflecting on the big opening weekend (globally, the film grossed $178.5 million), the executive said she believes audiences turned out to theaters to see the film because “it’s a real cinematic experience.”

“It’s as emotional as it is visceral with characters you really care about set against action and worldbuilding you have never seen before,” Parent added.

Chalamet and Zendaya told CNN they don’t know anything about the script yet. Sure, it’s based off of a book, but the stars insist Villeneuve hasn’t clued them in on any plans for how it will all end on-screen.

“I have no idea,” Zendaya said.

However, she added, if there is a third film in the franchise, she hopes to have more scenes with Pugh, who was added to the cast for the second film.

“I haven’t gotten fully into the next book yet,” Zendaya said about “Messiah.” “I started it and then was like, ‘Hold on. Let me just go back and re-read the book that I’m currently doing again.’ You get immersed quickly into a whole thing, especially with Princess Irulan and Chani and Paul. There’s a lot going on there. I, at least as a fan, would love to see more of that. Florence is brilliant and it would be amazing to be in more scenes with her. But again, it’s up to Denis and how he sees it.”

Topher Gauk-Roger contributed to this report.

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