Everything We Know About 'Dune Messiah'

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This story contains spoilers for Dune: Part Two.

After nearly three years, Dune: Part Two is finally here. The triumphant film from director Denis Villeneuve not only sets a new standard for science fiction cinema, but it also completes the story of Frank Herbert’s first Dune novel on a scale moviegoers and readers have never seen before. There have, of course, been previous adaptations of Dune—most notably in 1984 and 2000—but Dune: Part One and Dune: Part Two fully represent one of the most impressive and epic transfers from page to screen, ever. As the author’s son and literary executor Brian Herbert said on Twitter: “...it is by far the best film interpretation of Frank Herbert’s classic novel DUNE that has ever been done.”

But the overall story of Dune is far from over. While Dune: Part Two ends where the first novel ends, there are five more novels written by Frank Herbert. The book that follows Dune, 1969’s Dune Messiah, is already being developed as the basis for a direct sequel to Dune: Part Two. But will a Dune Messiah movie really happen? Who will be in it? And, perhaps most importantly, how long will we have to wait for it to come out? Here are your sand-burning questions about a Dune Messiah movie, answered.

Is a Dune Messiah movie happening?

The soft answer is yes. Although Warner Brothers and Legendary haven’t made any official announcements, Denis Villeneuve has repeatedly said that he is currently writing the script. “It’s a movie that is still in the writing process,” Villeneuve told Inverse. He’s also made it clear that this script isn’t done. Speaking to The Playlist, he said, “We are close, and we are working on it, but it’s not finished.”

Since 2021, Villeneuve has indicated that after adapting the first novel into two films, he wanted to do one more Dune movie. “And I always thought Dune Messiah would be a powerful film,” Villeneuve said in 2021. “I always saw a trilogy.” If you’re wondering why Villeneuve wouldn't want to split Dune Messiah into two movies like he did with Dune, that’s because Dune Messiah is much shorter than Dune; the first book is about 180,000 words, while the sequel book is closer to 72,000.

Dune Messiah has been adapted once before. In 2003, the Sci-Fi Channel’s miniseries, Children of Dune, adapted the entirety of Dune Messiah in its first episode and then adapted the novel Children of Dune in its second two episodes. Directed by John Harison and Greg Yaitanes, the two Sci-Fi miniseries (spanning three books — Frank Herbert’s Dune and Children of Dune) represent the most book-faithful screen versions of Dune, ever. The new Villeneuve movies are much slicker and arguably more artful, but book purists will (correctly) maintain that both those miniseries from the aughts are much closer to the original text. By making Dune Messiah into just one film, Villeneuve would also be staying pretty close to the relatively breezy, quick read of a novel. Plus, a Dune Messiah movie would help tie up some loose ends Villeneuve left in Dune: Part Two.

How does Dune: Part Two set up Dune Messiah?

Unlike in the novel, Dune: Part Two ends with Paul’s sister, Alia, still not born. However, the new film reveals an adult version of Alia in a future-tense vision, in which this iconic character is played (very briefly) by Anya Taylor-Joy. More than anything, this one surprising scene teases the possibilities of Dune Messiah, simply because it presents a future beyond the events of Dune: Part Two. At the end of the film, Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) tells the unborn Alia, “Your brother attacked the great houses. The holy war begins.” A movie version of Dune Messiah would depict the aftermath of this massive war, and what the universe is like under Paul’s reign as Emperor.

Dune: Part Two also suggests that despite Chani’s anger with Paul in this film, they will reconcile at some point in the future. Paul tells his mother his future visions assure him that “she’ll come to understand.” This would line up with the books, because in Dune Messiah, Chani would be loyal to Paul, despite some of his tyrannical deeds. That said, Chani striking out on her own at the end of Dune: Part Two could indicate that a movie version of Dune Messiah might differ from the books.

What is Dune Messiah about?

Dune Messiah is mostly about two things: a conspiracy to assassinate Paul and Paul’s cursed view of his own prescience, which finds him locked into his own predictions of the future. A brisker book than Dune, Dune Messiah could be read as an extended epilogue to Dune. It’s here, in this book, that Frank Herbert illuminates how what began as Paul’s hero’s journey has turned into a tragedy. Essentially, Messiah is the moment where Paul lives long enough to see himself become the greatest villain.

For all intents and purposes, Dune Messiah is the Revenge of the Sith of the Dune books. Paul’s fear of the future leads him right into the very future he fears. And, just like Revenge of the Sith, it ends with Chani dying in childbirth before giving birth to twins. The end of the novel finds Paul blinded and walking into the desert to his fate, leaving his children, Ghanima and Leto II, in the care of his sister Alia, his wife Princess Irulan, and… Duncan Idaho.

Which cast members would return for Dune Messiah?

If you thought Duncan Idaho was a typo in that last paragraph, it’s not! Perhaps the biggest twist in Dune Messiah is the return of Duncan Idaho. As part of a scheme, a group called the Bene Tleilax brings Duncan back from the dead in the form of a clone called a ghola. At first, this clone of Duncan takes on the name “Hayt,” but by the end of the book, he accesses the memories of the original Duncan and once again becomes a loyal protector of House Atreides. In other words, if there is a Dune Messiah movie, Jason Momoa will be back as Ducan! But this time, if the movie stays true to the book, he’ll have creepy metallic eyes. Speaking with GQ in 2022, Momoa said, “I mean, the books are proof… so I’m not the one spoiling it here.”

So Jason Momoa would need to return for sure. Meanwhile, during the lockdowns of 2020, Timothée Chalamet read Dune Messiah and has frequently said that he would return for a third film if asked. Ditto Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, and, as mentioned, Anya Taylor-Joy. In the books, Alia Atriedes has a romance with Duncan Idaho in Dune Messiah and Children of Dune, so, if a Messiah movie happens, everyone will need to be prepared to ship Taylor-Joy + Momoa.

Although Villeneuve says he only intends to adapt Messiah, Alia’s age in the future vision in Dune: Part Two could indicate that he’ll dip a bit further into the future to the events of Children of Dune. If that’s the case, then it’s possible that Stellan Skarsgård could appear in a third Dune film. How, you ask? Well, because Alia has all the memories of her ancestors, we could see her commune with the living memory of her grandfather, the Baron Harkonnen. In Children of Dune, the Baron haunts Alia, and at various points, he straight-up possesses her like an evil ghost. Villeneuve’s hypothetical Messiah movie probably won’t get that far into the books, but you never know.

When will Dune Messiah hit theaters?

The reality of Dune Messiah becoming a movie isn’t really a question of if, but rather, when. Because both Dune films are comprised of a who’s who of Hollywood A-listers, aligning production with various actors’ schedules is one of the biggest challenges facing Dune Messiah.

But, on top of that, Villeneuve doesn’t want to be rushed. Before Dune: Part Two hit theaters, Villeneuve made it clear he might need to take a break from Arrakis. Speaking to The Playlist, he said, “Once [Dune: Part Two] is out, I intend to go back into the snow and dream a little bit to see if I’m going back to Arrakis right away or if I’m taking a detour just for mental sanity.” Some of those detours might be connected to the fact that Villeneuve has quietly been at work adapting Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke’s 1973 sci-fi novel.

In conversation with Variety, Villeneuve made it clear he wants to make a third Dune film, but he’s very wary of the corporate structures that speed up the process. “There is absolutely a desire to have a third one, but I don’t want to rush it,” he said, and then pointed out that “the danger in Hollywood is that people get excited and only think about release dates, not quality.”

Like the prophet of Dune, Villeneuve may be fated to direct a third Dune movie, and he may not be able to escape his destiny. But unlike a person who lives on Arrakis, Villeneuve seems determined to arrive at that point on his own terms. Film critics and fans can prophesize about the third coming of Dune all they want, but it will only come when the time is right. That could be in a few years, another five years, or even longer. In the books, twelve years pass between the end of Dune and the beginning of Dune Messiah. Will it be that long in our world, too?

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