Warner Bros. Pictures has just dropped the final trailer for “Dune: Part Three,” providing one last sweeping look at Denis Villeneuve’s conclusion to his sci-fi trilogy before its theatrical and IMAX release in North America on December 18.
In the trailer, Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides appears as a hardened emperor nearly two decades into his reign, with enemies surrounding him who were once his allies. Zendaya’s Chani pairs up with Robert Pattinson’s Scytale in an attempt to kill Paul, and the footage promises sandworms, battle scenes, and plans hatched by the Bene Gesserit sisterhood, GamesRadar reports.
“The future has a way of talking to me,” says one of the lines, FirstShowing points out.
The trailer comes a day after the studio unveiled character posters featuring Paul, Chani, Jason Momoa’s Duncan Idaho clone, Anya Taylor-Joy’s Alia Atreides, and Robert Pattinson’s Scytale, Yahoo Entertainment reports. The film is set to open internationally on December 16, with tickets available worldwide.
Based on Frank Herbert’s 1969 novel “Dune Messiah,” the film takes place nearly two decades after Paul has taken over the Imperium at the end of “Dune: Part Two.” According to Warner Bros., Paul must face the consequences of his reign as old friends join him, new enemies emerge, and betrayal runs rampant as he becomes embroiled in a grand conspiracy with Chani at its center, haunted by visions of his empire’s fall and his lost love.
As part of his criticism of readers who viewed Paul as a savior, Herbert wrote “Dune Messiah” to reveal the destruction left in the wake of Paul’s rise and the religious movement he created, GeekTyrant adds. Villeneuve has described his new film to Empire magazine as “a sophisticated epilogue” to the previous two movies, and Chalamet has called it standalone, SlashFilm reports.
The movie has been known as “Dune Messiah” until 2025, when Warner Bros. decided to change its title, Film Stories reports, citing Variety. Villeneuve has said that this would be his final “Dune” movie, even though Herbert has continued his saga with four other novels.
For Chalamet, wrapping up the part was a big deal. “I still felt like I was losing a part of me,” he said of the shoot’s end, GamesRadar reports.
Timothée Chalamet, Oscar nominee, leads a cast that includes Zendaya as Chani, Jason Momoa playing a variant of Duncan Idaho in the form of a clone, Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Isaach de Bankolé, Charlotte Rampling, Oscar nominee, as Reverend Mother Mohiam, Anya Taylor-Joy as Alia, Robert Pattinson as Scytale, and Javier Bardem as Stilgar, according to the studio and Dark Horizons.
Robert Pattinson is the franchise’s most notable newcomer. His Scytale is a Tleilaxu Face Dancer who can change his appearance and sits among those who plot against the emperor. Jason Momoa returns to the series, now portraying the resurrected Duncan, called Hayt after he died in the 2021 movie.
Academy Award nominee Denis Villeneuve directs from a screenplay he co-wrote with Brian K. Vaughan. The film is produced by Oscar nominees Mary Parent, Tanya Lapointe, Villeneuve, Cale Boyter, and Joe Caracciolo Jr., with executive producers Joshua Grode, Thomas Tull, Herbert W. Gains, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, Kim Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, Richard P. Rubinstein, John Harrison, and Jessica Derhammer.
The cinematographer is Linus Sandgren, an Oscar winner for La La Land, replacing Greig Fraser, who filmed the first two movies, Esquire Middle East reports. Several Oscar winners from previous installments return, including production designer Patrice Vermette, editor Joe Walker, and composer Hans Zimmer. Costume designer Jacqueline West and casting director Francine Maisler, both Oscar nominees, also make a return.
Oscar winner Paul Lambert and Mag Sarnowska head visual effects. One of them is DNEG, the London company that won the visual effects Oscar for Dune: Part Two after providing nearly 1,000 shots, according to DNEG.
The filming started in Budapest, Hungary, on July 7, 2025, Film Stories reports. Denis Villeneuve directed some of the major sequences in IMAX. Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures present the film as a Legendary Pictures production in association with Image Nation Studios.
The film’s conclusion follows two major predecessors. “Dune: Part Two” opened to $81.5 million in North America in March 2024, NBC Los Angeles reports, and went on to earn about $715 million worldwide. The movie earned five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and won for Sound and Visual Effects, USA Today reports. The original 2021 movie, released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max, won six Oscars from ten nominations, the Los Angeles Times reports.
“Dune: Part Three” hits theaters on the same day as Marvel’s “Avengers: Doomsday,” another face-to-face that many fans call “Dunesday.” Warner Bros. was the first to announce the date and has stuck to it, while box office analysts have pointed out that the film has secured IMAX screens for its first three weeks, according to Dark Horizons. Advance IMAX 70mm tickets have been disappearing within hours of going on sale, No Film School reports.
Warner Bros. Pictures will distribute the film worldwide, with Legendary Pictures releasing it in China.
