Dune: Part Three: The Price of Rule for Paul, Now an Emperor

Dune: Part Three concludes Denis Villeneuve’s trilogy as Emperor Paul Atreides confronts the consequences of his power. It opens in North American theaters and IMAX on December 18, 2026.

《Dune: Part Three》 is the final installment in Denis Villeneuve’s trilogy adapting Frank Herbert’s novels, based on 《Dune Messiah》, the novel that follows 《Dune》. It was made by Warner Bros. and Legendary, and will open in North American theaters and IMAX on December 18, 2026. The final trailer was released on October 27. In South Korea, Warner Bros. Korea has confirmed a December 16 release.

Paul after becoming emperor

Set many years after the events of the previous film, Paul Atreides now stands at the pinnacle of the empire. This story does not follow his rise to that position, but rather Paul as emperor confronting the consequences of his rule, returning former companions, new threats, and betrayals hidden everywhere. Villeneuve described this installment as a thriller, explaining that it has more action and tighter tension than the first two, and said he placed Paul and Chani’s relationship at the center of the story. Paul must find a way out of the cycle of violence he set in motion.

Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya return as Paul and Chani, while Javier Bardem returns as Stilgar, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, and Florence Pugh as Irulan. Jason Momoa returns as Scytale, the ghola of Duncan Idaho, and Anya Taylor-Joy plays Paul’s sister Alia. Newly joining the cast, Robert Pattinson plays Scytale, a shape-shifting assassin from the Tleilaxu who joins a conspiracy targeting Paul. The screenplay was written by Villeneuve and Brian K. Vaughan, known for the comic 《Saga》.

The final chapter shot on film

Filming began in July 2025 at Origo Studios in Budapest, Hungary. Linus Sandgren served as cinematographer in place of Greig Fraser, who shot the first and second films, changing the shooting approach as well. While the previous two installments were shot with large digital cameras and given a film texture in post-production, most of this film was shot on 65mm film, with large scenes captured using IMAX film cameras. Villeneuve said he kept only the desert scenes digital because he liked the rough texture of digital IMAX for them. Hans Zimmer, who scored all three films, returned to compose the music, and in October the first soundtrack song, 「Desert Chant」, featuring Timothée Chalamet, was released first.

What the first two films left behind

Released in October 2021, 《Dune》 received 10 Academy Award nominations and won six. 《Dune: Part Two》, released on March 1, 2024, earned $82.5 million in its opening weekend in North America alone, far surpassing the first film’s opening performance, and exceeded the first film’s total box-office revenue within just a few weeks of release. At the Academy Awards the following year, it received five nominations, including Best Picture, and won for Sound and Visual Effects. The third film brings Paul’s story to its conclusion on top of the narrative and records built by the first two.