By Yesterday came trade reports indicating that a Denis Villeneuve-directed event film at Legendary and Warner Bros. Pictures had locked in a December 18th 2026 release date.
It’s widely thought that the film is “Dune: Messiah,” and now a report at DanielRPK indicates that production has locked in an August 2025 production start date and is indeed the third “Dune” film.
That would seem to confirm it will be Villeneuve’s next effort. The filmmaker previously indicated he wanted to do something else next before circling back around to ‘Messiah’.
That is until yesterday when those trade reports suggested he’s had a “change of heart” and now wants to complete the trilogy with work ongoing on the script and a cast being locked down.
Questions remain as to how Villeneuve intends to translate the material, the second book being a decidedly darker and more downbeat affair that’s more talky, weirder and dismantles any concept of Paul being a ‘hero’ – but does offer a strong and satisfying conclusion to his arc.
Villeneuve also has to meet his high standard as he told Empire in March: “If we go back, it needs to be real, it needs to be relevant, if ever I do Dune Messiah, [it’s] because it’s going to be better than Part Two. Otherwise, I don’t do it.”
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