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Robert Pattinson breaks silence on ‘Dune 3’ role: “It was so relaxing”

Tue 4 November 2025 15:38, UK

Robert Pattinson has finally broken his silence with regard to his role as the villain Scytale in the hotly anticipated blockbuster Dune: Part 3.

The actor began being rumoured for the coveted role in the sci-fi franchise earlier this year, shortly after Denis Villeneuve was announced as the director for the next instalment, officially titled Dune: Messiah.

He has never officially spoken out on his involvement in the film until now, when he was recently being interviewed for IndieWire alongside Jennifer Lawrence for their latest movie, Die My Love.

Although Pattinson was obviously not able to give much away in terms of his villainous role, he did admit that the chance to take on a different kind of character in such a starkly contrasting environment, compared to some of his other parts of late, offered some unexpected benefits.

“When I was doing Dune it was so hot in the desert that I just couldn’t question anything,” he explained. “And it was so relaxing, like my brain actually wasn’t operating, I did not have a single functioning brain cell. And I was just listening to Denis [Villeneuve]: ‘Whatever you want!’.”

Noting how he now takes this approach “into other roles,” it is clear that Pattinson’s performance as Scytale, in whatever form it may take, has had a significant impact on his current career. The actor has become the most high-profile name to join the cast so far, with the likes of Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, and Jason Momoa all reprising their roles from the previous films.

However, before then, Pattinson is currently starring opposite Jennifer Lawrence in Lynne Ramsay’s comeback directorial effort Die My Love, which was nominated for eight prizes at the British Independent Film Awards, ahead of its release on November 7th.

Subsequently, Dune: Messiah began filming earlier this year and is slated for release on December 18th, 2026.