How many Dune movies will there be?

Dune: Part II is premiering in cities all over the world this week, so will there be a Dune 3? And how many sequels are planned? We’ve got the details below.

Frank Herbert’s epic 1965 novel Dune was always going too much for one movie, as David Lynch discovered when struggling to adapt the material in 1984.

So Denis Villeneuve and Warner Bros. took a smart approach more recently, splitting the story into two parts, with Dune releasing in 2021, to critical acclaim and commercial success.

Dune: Part II follows next month, the movie hitting screens worldwide on March 1, 2024. So will that be the end of the celluloid story for these characters? Read on to find out…

How many Dune movies will there be?

There is likely to be three Dune movies directed by Denis Villeneuve. Then the director will leave the franchise, meaning that any future spinoffs or sequels will be made by someone else.

Dune: Part III will be based on Frank Herbert’s 1969 novel Dune Messiah. While speaking at a Dune: Part II press conference late last year – as per Variety – Villeneuve said the sequel script is already being written, revealing: “The screenplay is almost finished but it is not finished. It will take a little time… there’s a dream of making a third movie… it would make absolute sense to me.”

His cast is definitely on board. Timothée Chalamet told Total Film: “The idea excites me very much. If the time and opportunity comes to complete the story with Messiah, I think we’re all super enthusiastic about that.”

While Zendaya says in the above video: “Would we be down? I mean of course. Any time Denis calls it’s a yes from me. I’m excited to see what happens. I started Messiah and I was like, ‘Woah, I’m only shooting the first movie. Let me just go back to the first one.’ It’s so much to take in, but there’s no better hands with better care and love for it than Denis.”

In the aforementioned press conference, Villeneuve isn’t sure when he might make Dune: Part III, stating: “I don’t know exactly when I will go back to Arrakis. I might make a detour before just to go away from the sun. For my mental sanity, I might do something in between, but my dream would be to go a last time on this planet that I love.”

But while there are more Frank Herbert books to adapt – five Dune tomes in total – Villeneuve says the threequel will be his last, telling Time: “Dune Messiah should be the last Dune movie for me.”