‘Dune: Messiah’: Denis Villeneuve Teases He’ll Shoot His Sequel In 2026

When will Denis Villeneuve make “Dune: Messiah“?  The answer may be sooner than “Dune” fans think. Deadline reports that the director gave an update on the sequel in a new interview with the outlet, or at least a tentative one: 2026 looks to be the start date.

“I’m in the writing zone right now,” Villeneuve said about the upcoming project, although he remained coy about naming it “Dune: Messiah” or “Dune: Part Three.” He also confirmed that his “break” from filmmaking is over, and he’ll “go back behind the camera faster than I think.” Villeneuve fans knew that already after Warner Bros. dated the director’s next film for a December 18, 2026 theatrical release. But will that movie be the next “Dune” film or one of several other irons Villeneuve has in the fire?

READ MORE: Denis Villeneuve Is Happy To Plant “Seeds” In ‘Dune: Messiah’ So The Franchise Can Keep Going Without Him

Villeneuve wouldn’t confirm his next movie, but he gave a vague answer for when “Dune: Messiah” might start shooting. “2026,” he started before his publicist made him backtrack. “These movies take a lot of time to be made, so it’s best not to say out loud when I might shoot. Unfortunately, I’m supposed to shut up,” he joked. But Villenueve’s break from Arrakis will be more shortlived than he planned. “Let’s say 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,” he continued. “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.”

Whenever it films, Villeneuve plans to remain faithful to Frank Herbert‘s 1969 novel, in that his sequel will be “something completely different” than his first two films, and “will finish the Paul Atreides arc.” The director described his two-part “Dune” as “for me like one entity,” and that “it’s finished, it’s done”; “Dune: Messiah” will be something else altogether. “While it’s the same world, it’s a new film with new circumstances,” Villeneuve continued. That shouldn’t surprise anyone familiar with the original novel, which is tonally and thematically another kind of story than “Dune.” But don’t expect Villeneuve to linger in Herbert’s world beyond “Messiah,” however. After the film, the director will leave behind “Dune” for good, and has no plans to adapt Herbert’s four other sequels (although he won’t mind if another filmmaker explores them).

What else did Villeneuve say about “Dune: Messiah”?  He confirmed Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, and Anya Taylor-Joy will all be back for the sequel. “They have to return,” said Villeneuve. “They are with the main cast when it happens. And more worms. What can I say?” But if Villeneuve doesn’t shoot the film until 2026, then it’s doubtful “Dune: Messiah” is the movie Warner Bros. releases on December 18 that year. If that’s the case, it could be several other Villeneuve projects, like “Nuclear War: A Scenario“ or his long-gestating “Cleopatra.” Villeneuve gave an update on the latter: “It’s a very difficult project, fantastic project, but very ambitious, and the writing needs to be perfect.” “1917” scribe Krysty Wilson-Cairns pens that film. “It’s a very long-term project,” continued the director, “it’s a beast to crack.”

That doesn’t sound promising either, so maybe Villeneuve makes “Nuclear War: A Scenario” before returning to Arrakis? If that’s the case, don’t expect “Dune: Messiah” in theaters until 2027 at the earliest; not quite the 12-year gap in Herbert’s novels, but probably enough time for movie audiences to embrace a different, darker ending to the Paul Atreides story.