Dune: Part Three Director Denis Villenueve Teases New Film As Trailer Is Released

Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve has shared how the much-anticipated third instalment in the Dune franchise will differ from the previous two movies.

The third and final film in the sci-fi trilogy picks up almost two decades after Dune: Part Two, with Timotheé Chalamet’s Paul Atreides now a not-so-benevolent ruler of the known universe.

Speaking at a Q&A event on Wednesday, the Canadian director explained that he didn’t want to rest on his creative laurels after the success of the second Dune film, and as a result, Part Three is quite different.

“I said to myself, it’s a good idea to come back to this world, not by nostalgia but by urgency,” he explained. “And to go there with a critical eye and the idea not to be self-indulgent.”

The Oscar nominee – who is set to helm the next film in the James Bond franchise – continued: “I want us to bring the audience to new parts of Arrakis, and [offer] something that [feels] fresh and new.”

He also pointed that “people who know the book know that it’s a very different beast”, before laying out what audiences should expect from the new movie.

“It’s more of a thriller,” he teased. “It’s a more intense story. And it’s definitely more emotional as well.

“So, it will be the third and last Dune movie. It’s a Dune movie that is very different[ly] written and it’s much more intense, I must say.”

Timotheé Chalamet, who was also in attendance at the Q&A, agreed: “The approach was slightly different on this one. It wasn’t like, ‘OK, we found a formula and now we’re going to run it back’. This is a different movie.”

He added: “I think the first two are sort of siblings, and the third one is really its own energy, and I love that approach. I thought, ‘Wow, it’s familiar – this crew, this family – but there’s a new tone to this’.”

Denis and Timothée’s comments coincide with the release of an exciting new trailer for Dune: Part Three, also released on Wednesday, which promises to be the darkest instalment of the film series yet.

The trailer shows Timotheé’s Paul as he finds himself waging wars, facing his betrayed lover, Zendaya’s Chani, and coming face to face with a shapeshifting new character, played by Robert Pattinson.

Audiences also get a glimpse at Florence Pugh’s Princess Irulan and Jason Momoa’s Duncan Idaho, who has mysteriously – at least, to people who haven’t read the book – returned from the dead.

Dune: Chapter Three hits cinemas on Friday 18 December 2026. Watch the new trailer for yourself below: