Denis Villeneuve reveals that Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) and Alia Atreides (Anya Taylor-Joy) will take on “prominent” roles in Dune: Messiah, similar to how Chani (Zendaya) assumes a central role in Dune: Part Two.
Speaking on the Little Gold Men podcast by Vanity Fair, Denis Villeneuve stated that Florence Pugh’s Princess Irulan and Anya Taylor-Joy’s Alia Atreides will have significant roles, similar in scale to Chani’s (Zendaya) role in Dune: Part Two.
Villeneuve has already confirmed that Dune: Messiah will be his final film in the franchise. The script is actively being developed — and Villeneuve is aware of how to handle the 12-year time jump in the story. He plans to set it up — in a way that would allow another director to potentially take over and continue the saga.
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Villeneuve said, “First of all, it’s important for people to understand that for me it was really a diptych. It was actually a couple of films that would be adaptations of the first book. That’s already done and finished. If I do a third one, which is in the process of being written, it won’t be like a trilogy. It’s weird to say that, but if I go back there, it’s to do something that feels different and has its own identity.”
Speaking to Variety, Villeneuve says other directors could keep the Dune franchise going after he makes Dune: Messiah.
“I think that it would be a good idea for me to make sure that, in Messiah, there are the seeds in the project if someone wants to do something else afterwards, because they are beautiful books. They are more difficult to adapt. They become more and more esoteric. It’s a bit more tricky to adapt, but I’m not closing the door. I will not do it myself, but it could happen with someone else.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. has confirmed Villeneuve’s next movie as an “event film” (it could possibly be Dune: Messiah). The film is set to debut in theaters on December 18, 2026. Legendary Entertainment, the studio behind the Dune film franchise, will produce the project.
Dune and Dune: Part Two are now available on Max.
