The script for Denis Villeneuve’s third ‘Dune’ movie is ‘in the works’

'Dune: Messiah' is coming, but Denis Villeneuve might make another movie first.

By Joe Allen Published September 9, 2024

Timothee Chalamet in Dune Part 2 — Warner Bros.

Director Denis Villeneuve has done something that many once believed was impossible. Not only has he successfully adapted Dune to the big screen, he has turned his mini-franchise into a genuine phenomenon. Dune: Part 2 remains one of the highest-grossing movies of 2024, and also one of the most critically acclaimed.

Given that level of success, it only makes sense that fans are eager to get more from the world of Dune. Anyone who is familiar with the Dune books knows, though, that the novels don’t progress the way you might expect a standard hero’s journey to. Nevertheless, Villeneuve recently gave an updated on Dune: Messiah in speaking with Variety, saying that the script for the movie was “in the works.” Variety had previously reported that Villeneueve was developing the project with Warner Bros.

Recommended Videos

#Dune director Denis Villeneuve says that the script for the third film is "in the works." #TIFF https://t.co/5iTjRpVd1p pic.twitter.com/FPKDv3zPoT

— Variety (@Variety) September 8, 2024

In an interview with Collider, Villeneuve said that he would be willing to take his time on Messiah because he wanted to do it right.

“I want to take the time to do it. And I think it would be healthy that I don’t go back necessarily in the desert right away, that I make a little detour, maybe,” he said. “But honestly, I don’t know what my future is right now, which I love because I worked the past six years nonstop. It’s a blessing, but I need that. It would be nice to make sure that if we do Dune: Messiah, I want to make the best movie ever, so I want to just take my time.”

Messiah is the only sequel novel that is a direct sequel to the events of the first Dune, although there’s a significant time jump between the end of the original book and the sequel. It seems like we’ll get Messiah, but it may be several years before that happens.

Contributor

Joe Allen is a freelance culture writer based in upstate New York. His work has been published in The Washington Post, The…

Culture

We now know when Wes Anderson’s next movie will hit theaters

The movie is about a European family, although we don't know much more than that.

Wes Anderson (right) stands on the set of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

Few directors have created a distinct brand with its own fanbase quite the way that Wes Anderson has managed to do over the past 20 years. While his style is not for everyone, movie lovers tend to love him, and his last movie Asteroid City was one of his most critically acclaimed to date.

Now, Variety is reporting that Anderson's next movie, The Phonecian Scheme, will hit theaters on May 30. The film, which Anderson directed and also co-wrote with Roman Coppola, stars Benicio Del Toro as Zsa-zsa Korda, one of the richest men in Europe while Mia Threapleton plays his daughter and Michael Cera portrays her tutor.

Culture

Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan reunite for Sinners — here’s what to expect

Coogler and Michael B. Jordan will reunite for the fifth time

Coogler and Jordan

Ryan Coogler is one of the first names you hear when critics discuss the directors with the brightest futures in the movie industry. Coogler has a keen sense of what makes both an entertaining and thought-provoking story on the big screen. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for his producing efforts on Judas and the Black Messiah, but let's stick with his directorial career only for the sake of this article. His vision always includes Michael B. Jordan as his muse. Fruitvale Station, Creed, Black Panther, and its sequel are the four films the duo have collaborated on so far, and their fifth film is just around the corner.

Sinners will star Jordan as two identical twins with a checkered past as they travel back to their hometown in search of a better life. The unexpected horrors that await Smoke and Stack when they arrive will test their identities and their abilities to survive. There are not a lot of plot details, but the movie seems to be a perfect mix of horror and thriller elements. It should also critique race relations and make social statements about the current world we're living in if we're to go off of what Coogler's previous movies have focused on. This is everything we know about Sinners so far, from any trailers for the movie to the release date of the film in theaters (it's not far away).
What is the business relationship between Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan?
As mentioned in the intro, Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan have a type of relationship that has been shared in the past by duos like Martin Scorsese and Robert DeNiro. Fruitvale Station was the first time they collaborated. It was Coogler's first time directing a film and one of the first times Jordan was the main star after smaller roles in shows like The Wire. They revived the Rocky franchise with the spinoff film Creed at a time when many people didn't think Jordan would be able to serve as an adequate star for the world's most famous boxing franchise. And then came the movie franchise that changed everything for both Coogler and Jordan: Black Panther. Jordan played the antagonist of the film, while Coogler's vision for Marvel's biggest movie yet helped solidify it as a modern classic. It became the first Marvel film to win an Academy Award.

Culture

Scarlett Johansson has wanted to be in a ‘Jurassic Park’ movie for years

Jurassic World Rebirth appears to be a dream come true for the Avengers actress

Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey in Jurassic World Rebirth

Scarlett Johansson is one of the stars of Jurassic World Rebirth, and to hear her tell it, she's been waiting for this moment for years. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Johansson spent years sending rumors of new Jurassic Park movies to her agents because she was simply that desperate to join the franchise.

“I was really crazy about the [original] film, and I slept in a Jurassic Park pup tent in my bedroom I shared with my sister for a year,” Johansson said about her enduring love for the franchise. “Anytime the trades would report a new ‘Jurassic’ movie, I would forward to my agents like, ‘Hey, I’m available.’”