Paul Atreides faces the cost of his holy war in Dune: Part 3 teaser

Warner Bros. just dropped a broody and haunting extended teaser for Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part 3, the highly anticipated third film in the director’s acclaimed franchise—the last in his planned trilogy.

(Spoilers for first two films in the franchise below.)

In 2021’s Dune, we first met Frank Herbert’s iconic anti-hero, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet). That film culminated in the brutal defeat of House Atreides by rival House Harkonnen, with Paul and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), fleeing to the desert and taking refuge with the Fremen. Among them is Chani (Zendaya), whom Paul has been seeing in visions all along.

In Dune: Part 2 (2024), Paul ingratiated himself with the Fremen, learning to ride a sandworm and winning Chani’s love. Meanwhile, a pregnant Lady Jessica had her own plans for Paul as a messiah figure, in order to fulfill a Bene Gesserit prophecy; we learned she was actually Baron Harkonnen’s daughter, married to Paul’s father to merge the bloodlines to bring the prophecy to fruition. Ultimately, Paul challenges the emperor, defeats his champion, and demands the Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) as his wife, to Chani’s chagrin. The other Great Houses reject Paul as ruler, so he essentially launches a holy war against them. And Chani rides off on a sandworm after refusing to bow down to Paul.

Dune: Part Three will take place roughly 12 years after the end of Part Two, according to Villeneuve, as Paul faces the consequences of his earlier actions. Per the official premise:

Dune Messiah continues the story of Paul Atreides, better known—and feared—as the man christened Muad’Dib. As Emperor of the known universe, he possesses more power than a single man was ever meant to wield. Worshipped as a religious icon by the fanatical Fremen, Paul faces the enmity of the political houses he displaced when he assumed the throne—and a conspiracy conducted within his own sphere of influence.

And even as House Atreides begins to crumble around him from the machinations of his enemies, the true threat to Paul comes to his lover, Chani, and the unborn heir to his family’s dynasty…

Naturally, Chalamet will be back as Paul Atreides, along with Zendaya, Pugh, and Ferguson. Josh Brolin reprises his role as weapons master Gurney Halleck; Javier Bardem is back as Stilgar, leader of the Fremen tribe at Sietch Tabr; and Jason Momoa returns as Duncan Idaho, a fan favorite who died in the first film (book fans will know how and why he returns).

Joining the cast are Anya Taylor-Joy as Paul’s younger sister, Alia, glimpsed in visions in Part 2 when Jessica was pregnant; Robert Pattinson as the villainous Scytale, who plots to dethrone Paul; Isaach de Bankolé as Paul’s former Fedaykin, Farok; Nakoa-Wolf Momoa (son of Jason) as Paul and Chani’s son, Leto II Atreides; and Ida Brooke as Paul and Chani’s daughter, Ghanima Atreides.

Dune: Part 3 is slated to hit theaters on December 18, 2026. Several character posters were released yesterday, too: