The first extended Dune: Part Three trailer has arrived, and the victory lap after the rousing run-through-Arrakis-walls speech at the end of Part Two is already long over. Paul Atreides won the throne at the end of Dune: Part Two, but the new footage makes that win feel heavy, compromised, and lonely. At the very least, the victory seems hollow, and has brought Paul to emotional ruin.
Warner Bros. released the trailer Wednesday, July 8, giving the next Dune movie its biggest look so far. Denis Villeneuve’s third film is scheduled to open in theaters and IMAX on Dec. 18. The movie adapts Dune: Messiah, Frank Herbert’s 1969 sequel to Dune.
That source material is important here because Dune: Messiah is not a clean continuation of the hero’s journey. It is the reckoning after the rise. Paul is emperor now, but he is also surrounded by religion, political marriage, violence, and the people hurt by his ascent.
Trailer and full details below.
New Dune: Part Three trailer: a detailed look
The trailer keeps returning to Chalamet’s face, where Paul’s victory already looks hollow. He asks for forgiveness in this trailer. He carries the visage of someone wearied of being trapped inside a future he brought to ruin. The desert still has its scale, but the story feels more private now, pulled toward guilt, family, and the cost of being worshipped.
Zendaya’s Chani remains the most searingly-important person in the room whenever she appears. Dune: Part Two ended with her walking away from Paul after he chose Princess Irulan and the throne. The new trailer brings her back into that wound; she looks angry, guarded, and exhausted by the cost of Paul’s prophecy. Their story now carries love, betrayal, politics, and parenthood into the same frame.
Florence Pugh also returns as Princess Irulan, whose marriage to Paul helped formalize his rule. Irulan’s role should be much larger this time, especially with the story moving deeper into imperial politics. The trailer gives the film a colder, more domestic pressure than the first two movies.
The biggest surprise for casual viewers is Jason Momoa’s return as Duncan Idaho. Duncan died in the first Dune, but Dune: Messiah has a very specific reason to bring him back. The trailer presents that return as a possible peace offering, though nothing in this universe arrives clean.
Robert Pattinson also joins the cast as Scytale, one of the new figures circling Paul’s empire. His presence signals how much stranger this chapter can get. Dune Messiah is full of plots, religious manipulation, and people trying to control Paul’s future.
The returning cast includes Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Florence Pugh. Nakoa-Wolf Momoa and Ida Brooke also join as Leto II and Ghanima Atreides. Their arrival pushes the story beyond Paul and Chani’s broken romance.
Villeneuve’s first two Dune movies turned prophecy into spectacle without fully trusting it. Dune: Part Three looks ready to sit with the damage. Paul became the figure everyone wanted him to become, and the trailer already understands the tragedy there.
Dune: Part Three opens in theaters and IMAX on Dec. 18.
FAQs
When does Dune: Part Three come out in theaters?
Dune: Part Three is currently set to release on Dec. 18th, 2026. However, there is some speculation that it might move up a weekend on the release calendar, given the fact that Avengers: Doomsday is also set to be released that same weekend. It would be a bit of a shock if two of the biggest films of the year ended up being released on the same weekend.
Will Dune: Part Three come to streaming?
It is expected to be one of the biggest box office films of the year, so Dune: Part Three should get a long theatrical run. It is a Warner Bros.-produced movie, so when it does eventually come to streaming, it will be on HBO Max.
Who stars in Dune: Part Three?
Timothee Chalamet’s Paul Atreides will once again be the central figure of this film. Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Anya Taylor-Joy and Robert Pattinson will also all play big roles in the film. Some of the other fan-favorite characters from the first two films will be returning as well, including those played by Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem and Jason Momoa.
Is Dune: Part Three based on Dune Messiah?
The first two films were based on Frank Herbert’s original Dune novel. David Lynch’s Dune (1984) put the entire book into one film. However, Denis Villeneuve opted to split the first book into two films to be able to tell more of the story. Dune: Part Three, however, will be based on the second book in the series, Dune Messiah.
