Dune: Messiah might start filming soon, but why? Reason explained

Dune: Messiah is the next film in the Dune franchise, directed by Denis Villeneuve. It serves as a sequel to Dune: Part Two and adapts Frank Herbert's 1969 science fiction novel.

Part Two was released on March 1, 2024, by Warner Bros. Pictures and ended up making over $700 million at the box office along with glowing positive reviews. The director had stated that he wanted to make a third installment and he went in too quickly, earlier than they had planned.

Recent reports suggest that the shooting for Dune: Messiah is also expected to commence soon.

Dune: Messiah to begin shooting soon

Expand Tweet

Deadline has reported that the shooting for Dune: Messiah will start in June 2025. Earlier, it was expected to go on the floor after some time. Zendaya is expected to return in the upcoming film but it has not been officially confirmed by the makers. Timothee Chalamet will be Paul while Florence Pugh might again return as Princess Irulan.

Denis had spoken to Collider during a Q&A session where he spoke about why he is going ahead with Dune: Messiah:

"Chani's heart is broken, and it's the beginning of the Holy War and that's where we left, so in a way, I'd say it's quite similar. I was expecting to do something else before, but frankly, that's the inspiration that came to my mind as I took a break this summer and was going back and finishing the story. I was really moved by the way Part Two was received by cinephiles around the world, and I felt an appetite and a desire to see more and a responsibility to finish that story."

The director has stated that Messiah's events will happen 12 years after the storyline of Part Two.

More about the Dune franchise

Denis Villeneuve adapted Frank Herbert's 1965 namesake novel ( which was earlier adapted by David Lynch). Villeneuve wrote the film with Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth. The producers of the film include Villeneuve, Mary Parent, Joe Caracciolo Jr., and Cale Boyter. Set on a planet called Arrakis, the film follows Paul Atreides (played by Chalamet) whose family is overthrown by the enemy forces of House Harkonnen.

Starring Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, and Josh Brolin, Dune had its world premiere at the 2021 Venice Film Festival. The film was released theatrically on October 22, 2021. It became a critical and commercial success.

Its sequel, Dune: Part Two, took forward the storyline from the novel. The sequel was released on March 1, 2024, and was an equally successful venture like its predecessor.

In September 2024, Denis appeared on 'Little Gold Men,' a Vanity Fair podcast, where he talked about the third installment. He said that his initial plan was only to make two films to cover the book:

“If I do a third one, which is in the writing process, it’s not like a trilogy. It’s strange to say that, but if I go back there, it’s to do something that feels different and has its own identity.”

He also stated that his involvement in the franchise will end with Messiah and he would be open for someone else to take the mantle forward:

“Listen, if ‘Dune: Messiah’ happens, it will have been many years for me on Arrakis, and I would love to do something else. I think that it would be a good idea for me to make sure that, in ‘Messiah,’ there are the seeds in the project if someone wants to do something else afterwards, because they are beautiful books.”