Conspiracies and regrets abound in Dune: Part Three trailer - Ars Technica
Overview
Conspiracies and regrets abound in Dune: Part Three trailer
“You promised me that you would never take power in your name.”
Details
We haven’t seen much footage to date for Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Three, other than the broody and haunting extended teaser Warner Bros. dropped in March. But now we’ve got a shiny new trailer jam-packed with tantalizing hints of what to expect, and plenty of Easter eggs to delight avid book fans.
(Spoilers for first two films in the franchise below.)
As previously reported, in 2021’s Dune, we first met Frank Herbert’s iconic anti-hero, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet). That film culminated in the brutal defeat of House Atreides by rival House Harkonnen, with Paul and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), fleeing to the desert and taking refuge with the Fremen. Among them is Chani (Zendaya), whom Paul has been seeing in visions all along.
In Dune: Part Two (2024), Paul ingratiated himself with the Fremen, learning to ride a sandworm and winning Chani’s love. A pregnant Lady Jessica had her own plans for Paul as a messiah figure, in order to fulfill a Bene Gesserit prophecy. Ultimately, Paul challenges the emperor, defeats his champion, and demands the Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) as his wife. The other Great Houses reject Paul as ruler, so he launches a holy war against them. And Chani rides off on a sandworm after refusing to bow down to Paul.
Dune: Part Three draws on Herbert’s novel Dune: Messiah and will take place roughly 17 years after the end of Part Two, according to Villeneuve, as Paul faces the consequences of his earlier actions. Per the official premise:
Dune Messiah continues the story of Paul Atreides, better known—and feared—as the man christened Muad’Dib. As Emperor of the known universe, he possesses more power than a single man was ever meant to wield. Worshipped as a religious icon by the fanatical Fremen, Paul faces the enmity of the political houses he displaced when he assumed the throne—and a conspiracy conducted within his own sphere of influence. And even as House Atreides begins to crumble around him from the machinations of his enemies, the true threat to Paul comes to his lover, Chani, and the unborn heir to his family’s dynasty…
Dune Messiah continues the story of Paul Atreides, better known—and feared—as the man christened Muad’Dib. As Emperor of the known universe, he possesses more power than a single man was ever meant to wield. Worshipped as a religious icon by the fanatical Fremen, Paul faces the enmity of the political houses he displaced when he assumed the throne—and a conspiracy conducted within his own sphere of influence.
And even as House Atreides begins to crumble around him from the machinations of his enemies, the true threat to Paul comes to his lover, Chani, and the unborn heir to his family’s dynasty…
Chalamet is back as Paul Atreides, along with Zendaya, Pugh, and Ferguson. Josh Brolin reprises his role as weapons master Gurney Halleck; Javier Bardem is back as Stilgar, leader of the Fremen tribe at Sietch Tabr; and Jason Momoa returns as Duncan Idaho/Hayt. Joining the cast are Anya Taylor-Joy as Paul’s younger sister, Alia; Robert Pattinson as the villainous Scytale, who plots to dethrone Paul; Isaach de Bankolé as Paul’s former Fedaykin, Farok; Nakoa-Wolf Momoa (son of Jason) as Paul and Chani’s son, Leto II Atreides; and Ida Brooke as Paul and Chani’s daughter, Ghanima Atreides.
The trailer opens with an argument between Paul and Chani, interspersed with flashbacks to happier times and scenes of a brutal battle. “I trusted you!” she angrily tells Paul. “You promised me that you would never take power in your name. You convinced me that this was your home, that I was your home.” Instead, Paul waged galactic war and “destroyed thousands of worlds” to become emperor, alienating the woman he loved.
Cut to the reappearance of Duncan Idaho, or rather a reanimated ghola named Hayt who retains Duncan’s memories. He thinks Paul is “way beyond redemption” after all the atrocities he has committed. Hayt says he’s there to deliver a peace proposal but warns Paul that “it’s meant to destroy you.” The conspirators seem to include the Princess Irulan and Scytale, but she doesn’t seem keen on the fact that Scytale intends to kill Paul to achieve “regime change.” She calls him an idiot: “You’ve just signed our death warrants.” (Paul does have prescient powers as a result of the events in Dune: Part Two, which makes conspiring against him rather challenging.)
Meanwhile, the film version of Chani just might be conspiring against Paul in her own way. We see her on the dunes of Arrakis, seemingly summoning a sandworm, which charges before stopping in front of her. The final shot is a remorseful Paul asking for forgiveness for all that he has done.
Dune: Part Three is slated to hit theaters on December 18, 2026.
Credit: Warner Bros.
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Key Takeaways
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Conspiracies and regrets abound in Dune: Part Three trailer
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“You promised me that you would never take power in your name
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We haven’t seen much footage to date for Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Three, other than the broody and haunting extended teaser Warner Bros
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(Spoilers for first two films in the franchise below
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As previously reported, in 2021’s Dune, we first met Frank Herbert’s iconic anti-hero, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet)
