Timothée Chalamet debuts new look ahead of Dune: Part Three

Star Timothée Chalamet revealed a shocking change that could have implications for the next Dune movie.
TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET as Paul Atreides in Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ action adventure “DUNE: PART TWO,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET as Paul Atreides in Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ action adventure “DUNE: PART TWO,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. | Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures © 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

One of the big breakout hits of the last few years at movie theaters was Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two. After the first Dune film premiered in the midst of COVID lockdowns, with a day-and-date release on both the streaming service HBO Max and in theaters (much to the chagrin of its director), Dune: Part Two capitalized on the goodwill established by that first film in remarkable fashion. When it opened in 2024, Dune: Part Two became a massive hit, becoming one of the largest movie success stories of the decade to-date. As such, despite the fact that the first two films completed Villeneuve’s cinematic adaptation of Frank Herbert’s iconic book, audiences were eager to see more of the story, and with Dune: Part Three, they will.

The film is set to adapt the first of Herbert’s far more divisive sequel novels, titled Dune Messiah. The story follows the further ascent of Paul Atreides, as played by Timothée Chalamet, to tyrannical power. The third film began production in earnest in July of 2025, and is still ongoing, but thanks to a different film’s recent premiere, audiences have been given their first look at Chalamet’s drastic new haircut. And since he's currently in the middle of filming Dune: Part Three, it seems a safe assumption that alteration of appearance will carry over to the sci-fi sequel.

After being nominated for an Oscar for last year for his performance in A Complete Unknown, Chalamet is already back on the marketing and awards circuit this year for his new film, Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme. The film stars Chalamet as a real-life 1950s ping pong player, and it recently had a surprise premiere in New York. In tandem with this, Chalamet has officially launched his online marketing tactics, posting an elaborately staged video of himself decked out in Marty Supreme-themed merch and heavily featuring ping pong balls. The video opens with Chalamet masking his whole head beneath a large ping pong ball-shaped helmet, before ultimately revealing his new look in bold fashion: he has a buzzcut.

This is especially interesting, given Chalemet’s history of having long, wavy hair that has become synonymous with his screen presence. However, given that the actor is currently sporting this look, it means that Paul Atreides is going to have a shaved head in Dune: Part Three. Notably, this does lean into some deeper meanings within the film in complex ways. Austin Butler’s portrayal of the antagonistic Feyd-Rautha saw him having a completely bald head in Dune: Part Two, and this look change for Chalamet speaks volumes about how his climactic encounter with that character in the previous film might be shaping his worldview now.

Dune: Part Three is currently filming. As of this writing, it's scheduled to release in theaters on December 18, 2026.

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