Dune Part Three Officially In Development With Denis Villeneuve At Legendary

As the saying goes, the mystery of Denis Villeneuve's upcoming projects isn't a problem to solve, but a reality to experience. And whilst we wait with baited breath for further word on Villeneuve's eagerly awaited Arthur C. Clarke adaptation Rendezvous With Rama (which is still expected to be the Quebecois filmmaker's next feature), we do at least have confirmation of another hotly anticipated Denis sci-fi epic headed our way. Yes folks, with the epic Dune Part Two smashing it at the global box-office (it is, to date, 2024's highest grossing film with over $600 million taken worldwide), we can finally rest easy in the knowledge that Villeneuve is making further steps towards finishing his Dune trilogy at Legendary Pictures.

Per Deadline, Dune: Messiah — or Dune Part Three if you'd prefer — is in development at Legendary, with the franchise's very own Lisan al-Gaib, Villeneuve himself, set to helm the trilogy closer. And though there's no news as of yet on casting, filming, or even a speculative release date, we are pretty confident we can expect to see Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya back as budding space-Hitler Paul Atreides and rebel leader incumbent Chani respectively, as well as Florence Pugh's bride-to-be Princess Irulan. As for what else we may expect, that's anybody's guess — but based on what we learned in Dune Part Two, it looks like all roads lead to war.

And speaking of war, the Denis Villeneuve x Legendary collab won't end with Dune Part Three. Deadline also reports that Legendary have hashed out a deal of $500,000 against $1.5 million to option Pulitzer Prize nominee Annie Jacobsen's speculative non-fiction book Nuclear War: A Scenario for the cinematic treatment. The expectation is that the NYT bestseller, which explores the potential outcomes of a nuclear war based on copious interviews with military personnel and civilian experts, would be brought to the big screen by Villeneuve too. Considering the Sicario filmmaker's auteur pal Christopher Nolan has just, er, lit up the world with his Oscar-winning atomic biopic Oppenheimer, the prospect of Villeneuve directing something of a contemporary companion piece is mouth-watering to say the least.

Between Dune Part Three, Nuclear War: A Scenario, and Rendezvous With Rama, Villeneuve is one busy, busy man. Us on the other hand? Well we're off to rewatch Dune Part Two for the [REDACTED] time — obviously.