What will Dune: Part 3 be all about? Exploring the next events in the franchise

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the Dune series. Discretion is advised.

Dune: Part Two finally hit theatres this Friday after a long delay, and the ending set up Dune: Part 3 quite effectively. Dune: Part Two picks up directly after the events of Dune: Part One and follows Paul Atreides as he unites with the Fremen while seeking revenge on the Harkonens, who were responsible for the destruction of his family.

With Dune: Part 3 being confirmed to adapt Dune: Messiah, the second film has many setups taking place here that indicate a holy war will be coming. With Paul being the new emperor and the power struggle just beginning, director Denis Villeneuve has effectively hinted at many plot points coming into play after his trilogy.

---

How does Dune: Part Two set up Dune: Part 3?

At the end of Dune: Part Two, we see Paul finally ascend to the position of the Emperor. When he challenges Emperor Shadam IV to a duel, he chooses the Harkonen Feyd-Rutha as his fighter. Backed by the Fremen, Paul then battles Feyd, successfully killing and defeating him.

Shadam's daughter Irulan also consents to marry Paul only because he allows her father to live. While this puts Paul in a higher position, his relationship with Chani is ruined as he makes this decision without her. With Paul's ascension taking place and being backed by the entire Fremen, he orders them to attack the fleet in the skies.

The Great Houses don't take to Paul's ascension kindly, and this causes Lady Jessica and Alia to reflect on their situation as the Great Muad'Dib war is upon them now. With so much happening here, we can expect Dune: Part 3 to be a grand affair as the film will deal with the fallout of these developments.

While Dune: Part Two makes plenty of changes from the books, like Chani's relationship with Paul being ruined, fans can still expect the core ideas of Dune: Messiah to be intact in Dune: Part 3. The plot of Messiah begins 12 years after the first book ended, and Paul is currently the Emperor. He has immense power in his hands and has also become a messiah to the Fremen.

We can certainly expect the next film to deal with this as specific visions that Paul experiences in Dune: Part Two also hint at the upcoming great war. Paul also sees the vision of water returning to Arakis, and Alia - still in Jessica's womb - will be a considerable player.

Anya Taylor-Joy also plays Alia in Part Two as she makes a brief appearance in it, so it's likely that Dune: Part 3 will be having a time jump and explore more of her abilities regarding the Water of Life.

---

When can we expect Dune: Messiah to come out?

Recently, director Denis Villeneuve spoke about not wanting to rush Dune: Part 3. The director showcased that he is very passionate about the story, and seeing how the first two films have been leading up to an adaptation of Messiah, Villeneuve said that he currently wants to take a break.

Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, the director said he wants to take some time to recover as he has four projects in the works right now, one of which is a secret project he can't discuss yet. This is what he had to say,

"I feel blessed to work, of course, but it’s just that I physically need to recover for a couple of weeks. It’s also about making sure that I have the right screenplay. I have four projects on the table, currently. One of them is a secret project that I cannot talk about right now, but that needs to see the light of day quite quickly."

He continued,

"So it would be a good idea to do something in between projects, before tackling Dune Messiah and Cleopatra. All these projects are still being written, so we’ll see where they go, but I have no control over that."

---

Villeneuve previously revealed that he has begun writing the screenplay for Dune: Part 3 and has given updates about it, but it remains to be seen when it will see the light of day. Dune: Part Two is playing in theatres right now.