The overwhelming success of Dune: Part Two has definitely put some pressure on Denis Villeneuve to deliver a third film. Villeneuve’s first and second films have left untold a lot of story arcs from Frank Herbert’s novel, which fans believe will be completed in his film based on the second book, Dune: Messiah. Interestingly, the film may not happen anytime soon as the visionary director wants to make sure that one condition is met for this threequel film.
Villeneuve revealed that he would only do Dune: Messiah if he felt that it could outperform Dune: Part Two. The Sicario director’s condition is almost a challenging one as the sequel film has already cruised past the $500 million mark at the box office and is set to achieve more milestones.
Denis Villeneuve’s Condition To Make Dune 3 Is Sad News For Fans
Denis Villeneuve confirmed that he would not be jumping straight into another Dune film just because of the immense success of the current film. According to Collider, Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two just grossed over $500 million, and the entire team is on cloud nine, watching their film achieve great heights. During an interview with Empire Magazine, the Arrival director opened up about a potential third film in the franchise.
A third film will be based on Frank Herbert‘s second book, Dune: Messiah. Villeneuve revealed that he will be taking a step back from the world of Arrakis before working on the screenplay of a third film. The director revealed that he would make sure the film had a solid screenplay, which was ready in all its senses before committing to the third film.
However, he had one condition if he were to helm the third Dune film. Villeneuve shared that he would accept the film only if he felt like it was better than its predecessor. He also added that he would not return for a threequel movie if it was not a real and relevant story to tell his audience. Villeneuve shared with the Empire Magazine:
“If we go back, it needs to be real. It needs to be relevant, if ever I do Dune Messiah, [it’s] because it’s going to be better than Part Two. Otherwise, I don’t do it.”
Villeneuve has put himself in a very difficult position with his caveat for Dune: Messiah. The success of Timothée Chalamet‘s Dune sequel is very challenging to replicate for several reasons.
Fans Believe Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two Success Is Hard To Top
For fans of the Dune films, Denis Villeneuve’s revelation came as somewhat sad news. According to them, Dune 3 might not achieve the level of success enjoyed by its predecessor because Herbert’s second book was inferior to his first. One fan pointed out that the screenplay for Dune: Messiah will be hard to write considering the fact that the storyline had less interesting elements compared to Dune.
Another fan compared the Dune films to Christopher Nolan‘s The Dark Knight trilogy and shared that, like The Dark Knight Rises, the third film will be good but impossible to top the second film. A few fans were optimistic, sharing that Villeneuve certainly set the bar high for himself, but he could pull a great threequel film.
Well that’s tough because the 2nd book is nowhere near as good as Dune
— eeessahhh (@issapunk) March 20, 2024
Hard screenplay to write, Messiah doesn’t pop the same way Dune does
— Alex Bush (@alexabush7) March 21, 2024
The Dune trilogy is on a very similar arc as Christopher Nolan’s Batman
Batman Begins / Part One: good movies great foundation
Dark Knight / Part Two: MASTERPIECE
Dark Knight Rises / Messiah: will probably be good impossible to top second movie though
— Ian Blankenmeyer (@blankmannn10) March 20, 2024
It will be hard to top part two. Facts
— C-Sal (@JamesChrisSal) March 20, 2024
He set the bar pretty damn high for himself but I think he could pull it off.
— Shmotivated (@Shmotivated) March 20, 2024
It is better that Villeneuve takes a step back from the sand world and gets all his ideas for Dune: Messiah on paper before he announces a third film. Dune: Part Two is now running successfully in theaters. Dune is available for streaming on Max.
