The first two Dune movies, starring Timothée Chalamet as space messiah Paul Atreides, were giant hits. Much of the thanks should go to director Denis Villeneuve, who is a long-time fan of the Dune books by Frank Herbert and a visionary director behind fantastic sci-fi movies like Arrival and Blade Runner 2049. Dune has been adapted for the screen before, but something about Villeneuve's movies hit different. It's the perfect project for him.
Frank Herbert wrote six Dune books before he passed away. Villenueve's first two Dune movies cover only the first novel. This year, he'll start filming Dune: Part Three, an adaptation of Dune Messiah, the second novel in Herbert's series. There are some good books after that, but Villeneuve has made clear that he's done with the franchise after Dune: Part Three.
But I don't think Warner Bros. Discovery will be done. The third book in the franchise, Children of Dune, is an action-adventure story I can easily see making a good movie. But if Villeneuve is out, who's going to direct it?
According to Daniel Richtman, who specializes in Hollywood rumors, WBD is looking at Gareth Edwards, the director behind Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and the 2014 Godzilla movie. Edwards also directed The Creator, the rare completely original sci-fi film. The Creator was about humanity's war against AI, which dovetails nicely with some of the themes of Dune. It's a shame an original movie like The Creator couldn't get more traction, but clearly, Edwards loves him some sci-fi. I think he would be a great choice to continue the Dune franchise after Villeneuve leaves.
That said, this is just a rumor. And even then, Richtman says that WBD is just eying Edwards as a potential candidate, not that there's been a sit-down. The man is busy; he just directed Jurassic World Rebirth, which is set to come out in theaters this July. If he wanted to jump from that sci-fi franchise to this one, I wouldn't complain.
In the meanwhile, Dune: Part Three is scheduled to hit theaters December 16, 2026. HBO is also making a second season of its Dune spinoff TV show Dune: Prophecy. New episodes of that likely won't come out until 2026. That'll be a big year for sand.
Also, after Frank Herbert died, his son Brian Herbert took up the mantle and wrote a ton more Dune books with co-author Kevin J. Anderson, so the source material for this franchise is nigh-inexhausitble:
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