DUNE: MESSIAH First Plot Details Revealed By Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve; Will Likely Begin Shooting In 2026

DUNE: MESSIAH First Plot Details Revealed By Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve; Will Likely Begin Shooting In 2026

Dune: Messiah is one of the most highly anticipated sequels in recent memory and filmmaker Denis Villeneuve has now shared an update on where things stand with the movie and who it will focus on...

By JoshWilding - Oct 18, 2024 06:10 AM EST
Filed Under: Dune
Source: Deadline (via SFFGazette.com)

Dune and Dune: Part Two are widely considered among the best sci-fi movies ever, and while the former faced many challenges courtesy of COVID (including a day-and-date release on what was then HBO Max), both were successful enough to warrant a threequel. 

Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve will return to helm Dune: Messiah, a movie he tells Deadline (via SFFGazette.com) "will finish the Paul Atreides arc." However, despite the fact author Frank Herbert wrote an additional four sequels after that one, this third instalment will be it for Villeneuve and Dune

Explaining that he views the first two movies as "one entity," he the directed elaborated by saying those are "a movie made in two parts. It's finished, it's done."

As for why he came back for a third chapter, Villeneuve added, "Like Herbert did with Dune: Messiah, I think it’ll be a great idea to do something completely different. The story takes place like 12 years after where we left the characters at the end of Part Two."

"Their journey, their story is different this time, and that’s why I always say that while it’s the same world it’s a new film with new circumstances."

He also tells the trade that he plans to "go back behind the camera faster than I think" and is "in the writing zone right now... These movies take a lot of time to be made, so it’s best not to say out loud when I might shoot." 

"Let’s say," Villeneuve notes, "that I thought that after Part Two that I will take a break, that I will go back in the woods and stay in the woods for a while to recover. But the woods weren’t really suiting me, and I would go back behind the camera faster than I think. But that’s all I can say."

That's a little vague, but based on other comments made during this interview, it sounds like the current plan is to begin shooting in 2026 so we may be waiting a while before seeing this one. 

Villeneuve confirms Dune: Messiah's main players are Timothée Chalamet as Atreides, Zendaya as Chani, Florence Pugh as Princess Arulen, and Anya Taylor-Joy as Alia Atreides.

"They have to return. They are with the main cast when it happens. And more worms. What can I say?" he teases.

It's going to be very exciting watching this one come together and those of you who have read the book will know that Dune: Messiah should be a huge movie which, in many ways, eclipses what we saw in Dune and Dune: Part Two.

Stay tuned for updates as we have them. 

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mountainman
mountainman - 10/18/2024, 6:31 AM
Interested to see how they tackle the ghola character and storyline.
Conquistador
Conquistador - 10/18/2024, 6:33 AM
@mountainman - A de aged Mamoa could work, but a recast is probably better.

The longer this takes i don't mind. Will see it no matter what. Just need Chalamet to look like he's not a teenager anymore. Lol
mountainman
mountainman - 10/18/2024, 6:47 AM
@Conquistador - I was trying to avoid spoilers about the details of the ghola for those who haven’t read the book lol.

I would think that recasting would lose some of the essence of the character. But either way, it’s a very weird and interesting character. And if another director adapts more books after this one, it’s very important to the overall storyline.
Conquistador
Conquistador - 10/18/2024, 7:38 AM
@mountainman - My bad 😅 as it's more a spoiler to the first movie I thought it was ok.
TheNewYorker
TheNewYorker - 10/18/2024, 9:42 AM
@Conquistador - when he’s 45 he’ll still look like a teenager.
Conquistador
Conquistador - 10/18/2024, 9:59 AM
@TheNewYorker - that's fine, but the generation who's grown with him will know and then it will be easier to beleive. Make up won't work. Lol.
MotherGooseUPus
MotherGooseUPus - 10/18/2024, 4:22 PM
@Conquistador - thanks for the spoiler jerk... lol. jk, i never read the books and will forget you said this in 2027 when the movie comes out
Forthas
Forthas - 10/18/2024, 7:10 AM
This represents a second set of challenges. I think that if anyone can pull off this complicated and slightly weirder story it is Villenueve. If they continue in this world then I hope this is the last book they adapt and just do us on new stories for the films and streaming TV shows.
mountainman
mountainman - 10/18/2024, 7:19 AM
@Forthas - I know it’s a divisive book, but my favorite in the series is God Emperor. Yeah it’s weird and would be tough to adapt.

But it explores the themes and concepts of the series better than any other. Coincidentally, Messiah is the 2nd best at exploring these themes.
Forthas
Forthas - 10/18/2024, 7:25 AM
@mountainman - I think they could explore the same themes and concepts in other stories or at the very least take out the weird stuff. You liked God Emperor more than the original book?
mountainman
mountainman - 10/18/2024, 7:41 AM
@Forthas - I’ll admit I never read it until the first movie came out. If I had read the series when I was younger, Dune would 100% be my favorite in the series. It’s a great version of the traditional heroes journey and a very cool sci fi setting.

But when I read the series a few years back, I found it even MORE interesting that the hero wasn’t actually a hero and could have actually been a villain.

Then you go farther into the series and start questioning who are heroes and who are villains. Are bad acts justified if they lead to more long term prosperity? Are difficult decisions that hurt some people necessary in order to benefit the whole?

No book series has challenged my thinking like this one recently. Dune is the best complete story in the series. But those ideas that have stayed with me for years and my brain often revisits are not from Dune. They are ideas from later books in the series.
Forthas
Forthas - 10/18/2024, 8:07 AM
@mountainman - When you say later books in the series, do you mean the ones from Brian Herbert?
mountainman
mountainman - 10/18/2024, 8:27 AM
@Forthas - No I haven’t read any of those. Only the 6 from Frank. But God Emperor and Messiah are the ones that explore the themes best in my opinion. Personally I like all 6, even the 2 at the end.

I’ve heard so many bad things about Brian’s books that I don’t want to touch them, even though some of the summaries of those books sound interesting.

Sounds like the upcoming HBO show is based on one of Brian’s books. I’ll consume them if they are adapted like that.
LegendaryOutlaw
LegendaryOutlaw - 10/18/2024, 10:35 AM
@mountainman - God Emperor is such a great book. I think it could definitely be done as far as adapting it goes, but whether casual audiences would buy into it would be a whole other thing.

Children could absolutely be done. But with Villenueve out I think Messiah would be a really neat way to wrap up the films.

For those that have read the books, Messiah is very obviously not the end, I can’t really elaborate without delving into spoilers about particular characters, but thematically for the films it would make sense why it ends there.
mountainman
mountainman - 10/18/2024, 10:46 AM
@LegendaryOutlaw - It’s all one story. I also agree that Children is the end of the “trilogy”, God Emperor is the bridge book, then the final two are their own sequel story.

I’d be good with another director talking Children. God Emperor is a very heady book that is more about ideas and philosophy and is light on action. It would almost be better as an HBO show than a theatrical movie.

But then those final two books could be good movies too. It’ll be interesting to see how they continue to adapt this universe.
RedFury
RedFury - 10/18/2024, 10:11 AM
It'll be cool if they do the big time jump, but it'll take some convincing to make Timothee and Zendaya look alot older. As actors they certainly have the gravitas to pull off an older version of themselves; this I don't doubt. But the makeup, or CGI to make them appear older has to be good. Even just getting them to bulk up a bit I think would
go far enough as to make them seem aged up.

Hopefully whatever they do it's convincing to keep the aura of the film intact.
LegendaryOutlaw
LegendaryOutlaw - 10/18/2024, 10:37 AM
@RedFury - well, the spice has traits that help prolong life. So I really don’t think they’d need to do much with making them look older. They absolutely should appear to have aged, it just doesn’t need to be anything extreme.
RedFury
RedFury - 10/18/2024, 12:47 PM
@LegendaryOutlaw - oh ok, I don't think I knew that. I appreciate the insight, because that certainly allows them to rely more on the suspension of disbelief through the lore.

And then it's easy enough to make everyone else in the cast look a bit older with some simple old-age makeup seeing as most of them are already middle age-ish.
Nolanite
Nolanite - 10/18/2024, 11:07 AM
Should I watch 1 and 2?
Still haven't watched any of these movies.
Nolanite out
MrDandy
MrDandy - 10/18/2024, 11:32 AM
@Nolanite - absolutely. Best fantasy films since Lord of the Rings IMO
HistoryofMatt
HistoryofMatt - 10/18/2024, 11:52 AM
@Nolanite - Yes. They're fantastic, sci-fi epics that, much like Jackson's Lord of the Rings, are respectful adaptations of Herbert's work.
HistoryofMatt
HistoryofMatt - 10/18/2024, 11:54 AM
@Nolanite - Yes. They are fantastic sci-fi epics. Much like Jackson's Lord of the Rings, they are adaptations that remain respectful of Herbert's original work.
MrDandy
MrDandy - 10/18/2024, 11:31 AM
Fantastic! That’s way sooner than I thought. I thought he said he was doing another movie between parts 1 and 2. Can’t wait for this.
HistoryofMatt
HistoryofMatt - 10/18/2024, 11:53 AM
I can't wait. Legitimately more excited for this movie than anything being made right now.
DocSpock
DocSpock - 10/18/2024, 12:10 PM

I thought the first movie was good, but it dragged a lot. The second one was EPIC!!

I am all in for the third.

Dreading when it’s over, and the studio has some hack like Jj Abrams come in and make horrible DEI drenched sequels.

Please don’t cause an awful Star Wars level legacy destroying new trilogy when this is over.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 10/18/2024, 12:14 PM
@DocSpock - the second film dragged far more than the first.
DocSpock
DocSpock - 10/18/2024, 12:50 PM
@McMurdo -

I’ve seen that opinion from a few people. I am such a serious DuneHead that I probably want this to be great.

The books could get dry at times too.
dracula
dracula - 10/18/2024, 2:13 PM
Wish he would at least do Children Of Dune

Wonder who could take over for Leto 2’s story
elcapitan
elcapitan - 10/21/2024, 3:53 PM
@dracula - Didn't the SyFy channel do a series based on Children of Dune?
dracula
dracula - 10/21/2024, 6:59 PM
@elcapitan - yeah

From what ive heard

First half is messiah

Second half is children

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