Zendaya Says ‘of Course’ She’d Star in ‘Dune 3,’ but ‘I’m Waiting Until’ Denis Villeneuve Is Ready: ‘Dune Messiah’ Is ‘So Much to Take In’

Whenever Denis Villeneuve decides it’s time to make a third “Dune” movie, Zendaya is ready to reprise her role of Chani. During a cast interview with Fandango ahead of “Dune: Part Two” opening in theaters, Zendaya said returning for a potential “Dune Messiah” movie is a no brainer. Villeneuve has already stated publicly that his dream is to make a third “Dune” film — he confirmed in December that a script for the project is almost finished.

“Would we be down? I mean of course,” Zendaya said when asked about making another “Dune” movie. “Any time Denis calls it’s a yes from me. I’m excited to see what happens. I started ‘Messiah’ and I was like, ‘Woah, I’m only shooting the first movie. Let me just go back to the first one.’ It’s so much to take in, but there’s no better hands with better care and love for it than Denis.”

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“I’m just excited to see … It’s just anticipation,” Zendaya added about the future of the franchise. “Whenever he is ready. He’s a perfectionist in many ways and doesn’t want to share things until they’re ready. So I’m respecting that and waiting until he’s ready.”

Villeneuve participated in a “Dune: Part Two” press conference in South Korea last year and went on record saying the upcoming “Part Two” is a “much better” movie than his 2021 original.

“There’s something more alive in it,” Villeneuve said. “There’s a relationship to the characters. I was trying to reach for an intensity and a quality of emotions that I didn’t reach with ‘Part One’ and that I did reach with ‘Part Two.’ I’m not saying the film is perfect, but I’m much more happy with ‘Part Two’ than I was with ‘Part One.’ I cannot wait to share it with the fans and the moviegoers.”

Considering the first “Dune” movie was a box office hit with $402 million (despite being simultaneously released on streaming) and an awards darling with 10 Oscar nominations, including best picture, and six wins (original score, sound, film editing, cinematography, production design and visual effects), it’s quite notable Villeneuve is going on record calling the upcoming sequel a better movie.

“Dune: Part Two” opens in theaters March 1 from Warner Bros.

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