Denis Villeneuve never planned to make a third Dune movie so soon after Dune: Part Two. Afterall, they are massive undertakings, and he felt the need to make a different film first to clear his mind.
“I went to my crew and said, ‘I’m taking a break. That’s it. Bye bye.’ I went back home and I kept waking in the middle of the night with those images. I was supposed to do another movie,” he said during a trailer launch event on Monday at AMC Century City
The first film was released amid the pandemic in 2021, so he did not feel that he got audience feedback you might expect from a meticulously crafted blockbuster. But the love and feedback for the second film, released in 2024, hit him like a wave.
“The image of Dune: Part 3 … kept coming back and coming back. I said, ‘Alright, let’s do it,’” recalls Villeneuve.
The Oscar-nominated filmmaker noted that the reaction to 2024’s Dune 2 was part of the reason he felt the pull to move quickly on the concluding chapter. The first was released amid the pandemic, and arrived in theaters at the same time as it landed on HBO Max.
“It’s a very different movie than the first ones. It’s a good idea to come back to those world, not by nostalgia, but by urgency,” he said. “If the first movie was contemplation, a boy exploring a new world, and the second one is a war movie, this one is a thriller. It is action-packed and tense. More muscular.”
The movie takes place 17 years after Dune: Part Two. “We see Paul dealing with the consequences of having too much power.” The movie follows people trying to overthrow him, but “the heartbeat of the film is still the relationship between Paul and Chani.”
He shot the film on film, a first for him, but shot the desert scenes on digital, because he liked “the brutality of the digital IMAX.”
Though they weren’t announced, stars Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Javier Bardem and Anya Taylor-Joy surprised the crowd. Lead Timothée Chalamet was not in attendance, but sent in a video.
Robert Pattinson discussed his fan favorite character, Scytale. He noted that he saw the first two Dune movies multiple times in theaters. He said that on the set of the A24 movie The Drama, in which he stars opposite Zendaya, he asked his co-star, “How do I get in one of those Dune movies?”
Zendaya responded to laughs from the crowd: “I know a guy.” Pattinson go ta call a few months later inviting him to join.
“I wouldn’t say he’s a conventional bad guy, as such. He might even be a good guy. Who knows! I will also find out, when I see the movie,” Pattinson said to laughs of his character.
