Director Denis Villeneuve has told Entertainment Weekly that he wants to make “at least three” Dune movies. Part One and (the now-confirmed) Part Two of Dune only covers the first book in Frank Herbert’s epic saga. Villeneuve has also expressed an interest in adapting Messiah – the second of a total of six books in Herbert’s original series. And that’s before you even count the prequels and spin-offs written by Frank’s son Brian Herbert.
With Part Two of Dune only confirmed a few days ago, Villeneuve is already looking ahead, with the hope that he can conclude the story of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) in Messiah.
“I always envisioned three movies,” Villeneuve says. “It’s not that I want to do a franchise, but this is Dune, and Dune is a huge story. In order to honour it, I think you would need at least three movies. That would be the dream. To follow Paul Atreides and his full arc would be nice.”
Die-hard Dune fans may be looking forward to a whole series of films, but it is likely that Villeneuve, at least, will tap out at three. They do tend to get increasingly weirder and more psychedelic the longer they go on and creating a human-sandworm hybrid on the big screen could be a step too far, even for the bravest of directors.
But before we get ahead of ourselves, what can we expect from Dune – Part Two? Well, thankfully, there should definitely be more Zendaya, as Chani will guide Paul in the ways of the Fremen. We can also expect to see more of Dave Bautista, as Paul seeks revenge against House Harkonnen.
The main casting speculation will surely be around who will be playing the mysterious Emperor – who was a shadowy character pulling the strings in Part One – but was only referred to, not seen onscreen.
If the reaction to Part One is anything to go by, Part Two will see audiences clamouring for news of Messiah and confirmation that a third film will round out the ‘Paul Atreides Trilogy.’ It looks like Villeneuve is ready, willing and able – so the ball is now in Warner Bros’ court.