Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya are back on the big screen in December. Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary released the final trailer for Dune: Part Three on Tuesday 27 October. The studio calls it the last trailer for the film.
Dune: Part Three opens in cinemas and IMAX in North America on 18 December 2026. Other countries get it first, with dates from 16 December.
Where the story goes next
Denis Villeneuve directs again. He wrote the script with Brian K. Vaughan from the novels by Frank Herbert. The studio’s short summary says the film is set nearly two decades after Paul Atreides took control of the Imperium. Paul is now a ruthless emperor who has to face what his rule has done, and Chani is at the heart of a mystery that grows around him.
Chalamet plays Paul and Zendaya plays Chani, the roles they had in the first two films. Part Two ended with the two of them on opposite sides. Paul chose power, and Chani walked away. The new film picks up from there.
Villeneuve has said this one feels different from the first two. “This one is a thriller,” he said. “It’s a more action-packed and more intense film, more muscular than the two others, I would say.” The trailer fits that. There is lots of action in it and a strong sense of betrayal.
A big cast
Many familiar faces are back. Jason Momoa and Florence Pugh are in the cast list. So are Rebecca Ferguson and Charlotte Rampling, and Javier Bardem and Anya Taylor-Joy are listed too. Robert Pattinson is new to the series, and Isaach de Bankolé is also listed.
The studio has said very little about who the new actors play. For now fans only have the cast list and the trailer to go on.
Why fans care so much
The first Dune came out in 2021 and Dune: Part Two followed in 2024. Both did very well in cinemas and with critics. Fans have waited more than two years to see how Villeneuve ends the story of Paul and Chani.
The film also comes out a week before Christmas. That puts it in one of the busiest weeks of the year for cinemas.
Our take
Villeneuve has earned trust with the first two films, so a darker, faster third part sounds like a good plan. The real test will be Chalamet and Zendaya. Part Two gave them a sad ending as a couple, and this film has to make that split feel real on screen. Going by the trailer, there is plenty of tension left between them.
Will you watch Dune: Part Three in IMAX, or wait for it at home? Tell us in the comments.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Timothée Chalamet by Harald Krichel (CC BY-SA 4.0), Zendaya by Glenn Francis (CC BY-SA 4.0), Denis Villeneuve by SkywalkerEccleston (CC BY-SA 4.0), Florence Pugh by Frank Sun (CC BY-SA 4.0).