Draft:Untitled Dune: Part Two sequel

The untitled Dune: Part Two sequel is an upcoming American epic science fiction film directed by Denis Villeneuve, who co-wrote the script with Jon Spaihts. The sequel to Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024), it is the second live-action adaptation of the 1969 novel Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert, after the 2003 miniseries Frank Herbert's Children of Dune.

Development
In 2011, Mary Parent, vice chair of worldwide production for Legendary Entertainment, and Cale Boyter, her producer partner, managed to acquire adaptation rights for Dune. Eventually, Legendary acquired the film and TV rights for the Dune franchise in November 2016. Legendary hired Denis Villenueve to direct a film adaptation of Dune, and later secured a production deal with parent company Warner Bros. Pictures to make a two-part adaptation of the film. During the 2021 Venice Film Festival when promoting Dune (2021), Villeneuve stated his intention to adapt Herbert's second novel in the series, Dune Messiah (1969), as a part of his franchise should the Dune films be successful. After Dune: Part Two (2024) was officially greenlit in October 2021, Villeneuve reiterated his hope of creating a film based on Dune Messiah. Screenwriter Jon Spaihts later confirmed in March 2022 that Villeneuve still had plans for a third film, alongside planned television spin-off projects within the Dune franchise. Villeneuve intends for Dune Messiah to serve as his final Dune film and instalment within his Paul Atreides trilogy. He wanted to take a break prior to producing the film due to being exhausted by directing the Dune films back-to-back, intending to direct another film in between. Following the release of Dune: Part Two, Legendary CEO Joshua Grode stated that the studio was "engaged" in development. In March 2024, Villeneuve was cautious about making the film, as he wanted to ensure the script was good and said he would make the film only if he felt it was superior to Dune: Part Two. By the next month, the film was confirmed to be in development by Villeneuve and Legendary Entertainment. On June 28, 2024, Warner Bros. had announced a December 18, 2026 release date for an upcoming film directed by Villeneuve, with The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline Hollywood speculating it was the third Dune film as he may have decided for that film to be his next project. Deadline Hollywood also stated that work on the script and casting had continued.

Writing
While writing Dune: Part Two, Villeneuve noted Herbert's original intention to avoid depicting Paul Atreides as a heroic figure, intending for him to critique the idea of the "Messianic figure" and be an antiheroic figure. This impacted how he wrote Paul in the film, and said the film's ending would eventually set up the film. As early as August 2023, Villeneuve began conceiving of potential ideas for the film, saying that there were "words on paper". By that December, he said that he had almost finished writing the script.

Music
By February 2024, Hans Zimmer had been confirmed to compose the film's score.