Source: Official Dune: Part Three Trailer (Warner Bros. Pictures)
A Quiet Beginning That Says Everything
“If we have a girl, what should we name her? “ The teaser trailer for Dune: Part Three, which as of this writing is now 3 months old, opens with an intimate exchange between Paul Atreides and Chani. Paul holding Chani in his embrace suggests the name Ghanima, saying she should grow to be as strong as her mother. Chani with quiet affection, smiles and shares, if it was a boy she would name him Leto, hoping the child would inherit the wisdom of his grandfather.
For that brief moment of incredible stillness Dune sheds its grandeur to reaffirm that beneath it’s high-action set pieces and world building story, there still exists the complicated interpersonal relations between the characters going into this next piece which could turn out to be the franchise’s magnum opus.
A QUICK RECAP OF WHERE WE STARTED AND WHAT’S AT STAKE
For fans of the franchise that have been keeping tabs for any new developments and leaks for “what’s to come” in the December bound 3rd installment — Denis Villeneuve and Warner Bros might have just given a sneak peek. Before we move onto that though, let us first recount exactly where the last film drew a close.
“Dune: Part Two” concludes with a Paul Atreides who has now fulfilled his prophecy of being the fabled “Lisan al-Gaib”. A prophecy that up until this point was only a Bene Gesserit fabrication the Fremen had been long made to believe in. The Young Atreides heir, now acknowledged as the Fremen’s Muad’Dib returns to Arakkis to complete his vengeance against House Harkonnen. Atreides after having slain Baron Vladimir, and overthrown Emperor Shaddam IV is seen ascending to claim imperial power for himself.
This development comes as the betrayal of an unspoken trust to Chani, who feels disappointed that Atreides has now usurped the throne using a fabricated farce to take power. A tension that is likely to continue, and play a pivot in the future installment, but that’s not all, with the emperor being deposed, the stage is now opening up for the other great houses who are eyeing to break away from having to serve the new monarch, all while other conspirators like the Bene Gesserit order continue to scheme to take power for themselves. A war of a much bigger scale is imminent, and Paul Atreides might not be able to save all what’s truly dear to him.
THE WEIGHT OF WEARING THE KING’S CROWN
If the first two Dune epics revolved around Paul’s coming of age and then the revolution, then Dune 3 is more so about him trying to protect and preserve all that he has now. Adding in to the ensemble cast of Chalamet and Zendaya, Dune 3 also includes a lot many familiar and integral faces—-Rebecca Ferguson(Lady Jessica ) returns to play the new religious figurehead and “reverend mother” of Paul Atreides’ empire, and at this point, if it’s a mother’s instinct to self-sacrifice her very being for her child, or a fanatic who has bought into the paragon of the Messiah, she will not cower away from her blind support for Paul.
Speaking of blind support, another vehement supporter of Paul Atreides would be none other than Stilgar(Javier Bardem) ; one of the freeman warriors and a kingmaker if one acknowledges his influence over Jessica, for her rise as reverend mother. A key distinction between these two regents of the new emperor though, while Jessica’s support is for her son who has now become Emperor, Stilgar’s devotion(and faith) is towards the legend of Lisan Al-gaib that he believes Paul to be.
Amidst this already complicated web of human relations, another dynamic that is expected to pull some heavy weight in terms of value to the story would be the relation between Paul and Princess Irulan(Florence Pugh) , until the last film her character although integral, did not play as much a pivotal role as it is anticipated to in the coming movie. Married to Paul for political reasons, after the latter’s victory and usurpation of her father’s throne, all while being a member of a secret rank in the Bene Gesserit, that is quite the multi-layered character if one might think about objectively, and the possibilities can only be endless from here.
PRINCESS IRULAN–THE SPY ON THE INSIDE THAT WILL BRING THE SUN OF THIS NEW EMPIRE TO SET
To briefly add in a speculated dynamic for Irulan’s admonition of Paul, the emperor and her husband, is Paul’s relationship with Chani, the woman he loves, and the woman who bears his child. For Paul, Irulan is just the byproduct of a marriage of convenience, for Irulan there was never a choice to not be wedded to Paul. The former emperor’s daughter and a member of the Gesserit, she had to be at the center of power. However, being ignored and treated as an albatross around Paul’s neck, while Paul is sharing his seed to Chani, Irulan fears she could lose her position as empress and official wife to Chani. Prompting her to conspire and poison Chani to harm her fetus.
The conspiracies don’t just end there though. The latest trailer also delves into Irulan being approached by Scytale, played by one Robert Pattinson making his entry into the series as a “Face Dancer”, a species infamous for being able to mimic the appearance of others, and emboldened with this trait and his wickedness, he can exploit Paul’s inner turmoils and vulnerability to bring forth ruin.
THE RETURN OF AN OLD FRIEND. DUNCAN IS THAT YOU?
Source: Official Dune: Part Three Trailer (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Not much of a spoiler if we just talk about the appearance itself, Jason Momoma who played Duncan Idaho, the sword-master of House Atreides, and shares an older brother / close friend bond with Paul Atreides seems to be making a comeback after not being seen in Dune 2. In a move that has had the fans intrigued.
“What’s the intrigue about, and why was he not in Dune 2? “ Well people, the intrigue is because he died in Dune 1. Yes, Duncan Idaho played by Momoa died around the end of the first film while trying to hold off a fleet of Sardaukar soldiers to buy time for the mother-son pair of Jessica and Paul to escape into the deep desert, shortly after the events of Harnokken’s attack on Arakkis that saw the end of Duke Leto and the Atreides forces.
“If he’s dead, how can he come back? Wait then does that mean he didn’t actually die? “
I do not know about others but this was the exact question I had when they first showed him on screen. No people, Duncan Idaho died at the end of the first film, that too valiantly if I might add. To answer the question about his reemergence, we have to talk about Bene Tleilax. Bene Tleilax is a group of mysterious operatives infamous for their biotechnological experiments and genetic engineering. To paint the picture further, the returning Momoa does not play the deceased Idaho, he’s now “Hayt”, a Gholas created by the Tleilax, Gholas are artificially regrown humans that are bio-engineered with the cells of deceased individuals and copy their physique, antics, and memories.
The Tleilax, aware of Idaho’s importance in Paul’s life, conspire to place Hayt by Paul’s side to assist in their schemes to rot away at the empire, and weaken his reign, and if and only an opportunity were to show they just might even cease his breath.
To add further to the infamy of the Tleilax, the Face Dancer Scytale played by Pattinson is another one of their creations, also in service to the same cause.
HOW MUCH DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE BENE GESSERIT, AND IS THAT ALL THERE IS TO THEM?
The Bene Gesserit order, for thousands of years, have expanded their influence through selective matches and being present as concubines or advisers, or at times as political figures with direct influence at the centre of power of all of the known universe. With them the schemes run deep, and their presence is already spread to the vast stretches of the empire. The machined legends of Lisan al-Gaib were nothing more than the engineered seeds of their “Missionaria Protectiva” programme set to expand their influence on the lands of Arakkis.
Their fixation of being in control and avarice to seize control can further be attested to the breeding programme, a thousands of years old programme of selective breeding with the great houses to eventually birth the being that was to be known as Kwisatz Haderach. A being of monstrous prescient abilities… only for that to turn out to be Paul, and then the plan for perfect control went awry.
Where the plan for continuing the selective breeding with Atreides went awry, Lady Margot Fenring(Lea Seydoux) was tasked with and conceived a child with Feyd-Rautha, preserving the last seed of the Harkonnen bloodline, all as per the request of the reverend mother.
With the Gesserit order already on the opposing side of Paul Atreides, and with Princess Irulan acting as the trojan horse in the inner palace, the Gesserit Order is another of the foes that Paul must be on guard against.
THE HIDDEN EVIL LURKING IN THE SHADOWS—SPACING GUILD .
It is well known that Dune: Part One, and Dune: Part Two, are based on Frank Herbert’s novel Dune. Whereas the Dune 3 is supposed to be loosely inspired by the developments in Herbert’s 2nd book “Dune: The Messiah”. Up until this point quite a few characters and factions have made their appearance on the screen, except one.
That one faction being, the Spacing Guild. The Spacing Guild alongside the Bene Gesserit, and the Imperium itself make up the triumvirate that is at the very center of the power struggle in the known universe. Unlike the Gesserit’s cult-like doctrination , and the empire’s war mongering tendencies, the Guild’s influence is more integral, and has dealings with all other factions and groups in the universe. This neutral disposition comes from them being indispensable for faster-than-light space travel.
Guild Navigators are perhaps this group’s most fascinating members. After years of exposure to enormous quantities of melange, they have developed limited prescient abilities that allow them to foresee safe routes through folded space. The transformation also leaves them physically mutated, making them some of the most mysterious beings in Herbert’s universe. Their dependence on spice, however, is also their greatest weakness.
That vulnerability is precisely why Paul has become such an existential threat for them. By conquering Arrakis, he gained control over the only known source of melange, giving him unprecedented leverage over the Guild.
That is why, unlike the earlier films that focused more so on the revolution and Paul’s own rise into a monarch, this one is more about all the factions that he now has crossed a river of no return with as his rise and growing influence is now gnawing away at the balance of power that the great houses, the Bene Gesserit, and Spacing Guild previously shared.
THE BUZZ ONLINE—WHATS GOT THE FANS TALKING
What the movie actually turns out to be like, to answer that the wait to December is long, but fans and book readers are already buzzing with excitement and their own theories. Rather than the theories, let’s briefly gloss over some of the interesting dynamics that could play center-stage.
We’ve established that Momoa is making his return as Hayt, a foe under the guise of a friend, with the Bene Tleilax scheming to use Paul’s relation with the late Duncan for their benefit. Fans though, and quite a sub-group at that, are hopeful that Hayt’s repressed emotions of the original Duncan could put Hayt on the crossroads of conflicted allegiances, making it out to be one of the series’ most gripping character development arcs, rivaling Paul’s own.
The fan interests don’t stop just there oh no, this third final installment could also be the one where we finally get to see Alia Atreides(played by Anya Taylor-Joy) , the younger sister of Paul Atreides, that up until the last installment was still a fetus in Jessica’s womb. Remember folks, unlike the last installment that played right after the events of the first film, the third film employs a timeskip of around 12 years to show our established characters in their new roles after Paul’s coup.
Alia Atreides’ introduction could shape out to be one of the more fascinating additions, in the last movie Lady Jessica was seen drinking the water of life to pass the ritual for becoming a reverend mother, and with awaken the “other memories” a trait shared by all reverend mothers to be able to access the memories of all their predecessors. The part that must not be skipped over, Jessica was pregnant while she underwent the ritual, and the water was also absorbed into Alia as she was still in her mother’s womb. Fans speculate Villeneuve can play into that, and as book readers would acknowledge, Alia Atreides is a “pre-born” who has already been imprinted by the memories of past ancestors and reverend mothers, before the young life could’ve established her own identity. This could turn out to be tragic as in the novel her consciousness is dominated by the memories and personality of her late grandfather Baron Vladimir Harkonnen.
FINAL COMMENTS
Before sharing anything that would amount to little more than just incoherent ramblings, we must talk about where the movies differ from the original novel series. Villeneuve has publicly commented how this 3rd installment is his last venture for the series, and how he plans to draw the curtain here, the actual novels though, they go well beyond the developments than what even this movie would possibly be able to cover. Fleshing out to later generations of Atreides namely Leto II and Ghanima, and their own significance and journey in the Duneverse. The events of the new film are presented as the developments after a around 12 year time-skip, there’s no reason why there can’t be a second one, in this movie.
The cast page for the film mentions the addition of Leto II Atreides (Nakoa-Wolf Momoa) and Ghanima Atreides( Ida Brooke), the two children whose birth has been hinted at with the teaser trailer, them playing an important role alongside their aunt Alia Atreides would be an interesting addition to see as the Atreides emperor faces threats from all sides.
FINAL-FINAL THOUGHTS
This piece has turned out to be a good bit longer than what I had initially intended. To end things on a lighter note(marred with pure speculations), the last film ended with Chani riding off into the desert off the back of a sandworm after her feeling betrayed by Paul’s deliberate use of the Messiah propaganda to claim power, in this film we could expect to see the weight of Paul’s crown coming back to haunt him. His journey up until this point had been of a whimsical heir who had to grow into his role as a monarch for survival and for vengeance, this film could explore his inner conflict further as he now finds himself at the center wielding the power of the same faith that he once vehemently opposed.
His decisions will have consequences, every victory will come with a cost, and he might not be able to run away from his role, he won’t be able to stop, no he mustn’t stop, as the enemies are still lurking to take him down, some much closer than he might realise yet.
The film is also supposed to house Josh Brolin’s character Gurney Halleck, the House Atreides weapon master, and one of Paul’s remaining few allies and a mentor that once knew the young boy who is now the battle-hardened ruler. Brolin’s Halleck in the last film was seen taking charge of the Atreides resistance, leading Paul to the House’s hidden arsenal of nuclear weapons that were instrumental in Paul’s breach of Arrakeen, and also saw him achieving his own vengeance against House Harkonnen by slaying Glossu Rabban(Dave Bautista) for their atrocities against the Atreides family.
Brolin in the past has alluded to Halleck’s role in the upcoming movie in passing, acknowledging that the focus on palace conspiracies and conflict of powers between the major powers, leaves much less for his own character. It still remains to be seen what exact role he’d play in this next installment.
WHEN’S THE RELEASE?
At the time of this writing, Villeneuve’s Dune 3 is scheduled for a mid-December release with the first premiere on December 18, 2026 , in IMAX theatres across the US and Canada. For those hearing the rumbling and for those keeping up with everything pop culture, that release date is shared by another juggernaut, Avengers: Doomsday, yes, also scheduled to be released country wide on the very same date.
That’s not all we’re getting in December though, this schedule is to be followed by the release of “The Angry Birds Movie 3” , on December 23, 2026, and “Jumanji 3” also gearing up for a Christmas week release. Needless to say we’re eating good, and this December would surely be one to remember(good pun right?). Happy watching!!!
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