As 2025 comes to a close, it’s time to look ahead at what 2026 brings us, and it is certainly a stacked list which, I would argue, could make for the best box office year since yet in this post-pandemic world. Bold statement as that may be, especially after what “Barbenheimer” did for theatrical cinema, just remember that 2026 will include the likes of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Disclosure Day, Toy Story 5, Supergirl, The Odyssey, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and what will likely be the most expensive movie ever made, Avengers: Doomsday. And just as James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire & Ash is making its mark on the closing of 2025, a year from now, in its stead will be what is, frankly, one of the most hotly anticipated science fiction films in recent memory, Dune: Part Three.
Interestingly, Dune: Part Two concluded the events of Frank Herbert’s original novel, wherein Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), leader of both House Atreides as well as the Fremen people of Arrakis, captures the nefarious and scheming Emperor Shaddam IV, who surrenders not just his title to Paul, but also his beloved daughter Irulan’s (Florence Pugh) hand in marriage. Paul then immediately departs to wage a holy war against the other houses, who refuse to recognise his ascendancy as the Padishah Emperor, while his lover Chani (Zendaya), in a departure from the books, leaves Paul out of disillusionment with the path chosen.
The source material for Dune: Part Three, then, will be Dune Messiah, which is Herbert’s own sequel to his original transcendent science fiction novel. However, this novel is just as dense and complex as its predecessor, and as such enough changes will be made, though we can only speculate as to the circumstances of certain plot elements. Nonetheless, we do at least know that there will be a time jump in Dune: Part Three, with reports suggesting it will take place 12 years after the events of Dune: Part Two. By this time, Paul is still the Duke of House Atreides and the Padishah Emperor, although he is still surrounded by dangers as he will likely have to compete with the ever-scheming Bene Gesserit and the brutal Harkonnens, each of whom may or may not be in league with the dangerous shape-shifter Scytale, a character likely played by Robert Pattinson, though this has yet to be officially confirmed.
However, Paul will not be alone, as he will be surrounded by his faithful allies from the first two entries, such as Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) and Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), and while he has yet to be officially confirmed, we should also see Javier Bardem’s Stilgar. We will also see much more of Paul’s sister Alia, who we briefly saw in Paul’s vision from Dune: Part Two, played by Anya Taylor-Joy in a cameo role.
Of course, Zendaya will also return as Chani, who is now the estranged mother of Paul’s twins, Ghanima and Leto II, played by Ida Brooke and Nakoa-Wolf Momoa, the latter of whom is the son of actor Jason Momoa. Speaking of which, perhaps the most surprising addition to the cast for someone who has not read the books is Jason Mamoa, whose character Duncan Idaho died in the first entry, but he will return somehow re-animated and once again serve as the swordmaster of House Atreides.
Little else it truly known as the narrative of Denis Villeneueve’s Dune: Part Three, though we do at least know that the trilogy will wrap up the Quebec filmmaker’s time with the franchise, albeit he has admitted his openness to another director continuing the franchise beyond his own work. There is still a ways to go before the movie’s December 18th, 2026 release date, but with filming having concluded this past November, we can expect the inevitable promotional images and first trailer to drop some time during the summer.