- Director Denis Villeneuve unveiled a seven-minute opening scene of Dune: Part Three at CinemaCon
- Dune: Part Three is set 17 years after Part Two, featuring a darker Paul Atreides character
- Returning cast includes Rebecca Ferguson, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem, and Anya Taylor-Joy
Thrilling new footage from Dune: Part Three was released at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, reported Variety.
According to the outlet, director Denis Villeneuve, along with his lead cast of Chalamet, Zendaya, and Jason Momoa, took the stage in Las Vegas to introduce a seven-minute-long clip of the opening scene of Dune: Part III.
Dune: Part Three takes place 17 years after the previous installment, and Chalamet stated that his character Paul has become "his worst vision." At one point in the footage, Momoa's character tells Paul, "You have conquered the galaxy. You have destroyed thousands of worlds. I think you are way beyond redemption."
Even though Paul's life has gotten more complicated and his hold over the Fremen has grown more toxic, Dune: Part Three promises the same epic sweep of the first two films in the franchise, reported Variety.
Dune: Part Three brings back many cast members from the previous films, such as Rebecca Ferguson, Charlotte Rampling, and Javier Bardem, and gives some performers, notably Anya Taylor-Joy, substantially more to do.
There are also some new additions like Robert Pattinson as the villainous Scytale and one notable returnee -- Momoa, resurrected as a ghola.
According to the outlet, Warner Bros. went all out with Dune as the conclusion to its CinemaCon presentation. The studio brought out dozens of Fremen to grace the stage before Villeneuve introduced the Dune 3 footage.
Villeneuve teased that Part III will take the story in a new direction. "I didn't want to walk in my own footsteps," he said. "I wanted to do something new." The filmmaker described the first movie as "more meditative, more contemplative" and the second as "a war movie," as per Variety.
With that in mind, Villeneuve says the third is a thriller. "It's more action-packed, faster paced, and more emotional," as quoted by Variety.
Villeneuve spoke fondly about wrapping up the decade-long journey to bring the "Dune" franchise to the screen.
"It was quite emotional for me to bring them back one last time in front of the camera and say farewell to Paul and Chani in the desert. We became like a small family. This was 10 years of our lives," Villeneuve said, as quoted by Variety.
Chalamet noted he's "grown up" on the set of these films and called it "a deep honour, if not the biggest honour of my career to work with the one, Denis Villeneuve," adding that the director is "on another level."
Villeneuve, who will soon be making the next James Bond movie, has promised Dune: Part Three will bring Paul's arc to a satisfying conclusion, reported Variety.
Dune: Part Three will open in theatres on December 18, 2026.
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