Watch Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya star in thrilling ‘Dune: Part Three’ trailer

The trailer for Dune: Part Three, starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, has been released.

The first trailer for the highly anticipated sci-fi epic was released on March 17th, following on from the initial images of the lead characters being released the previous day.

The teaser shows Paul Atreides (Chalamet) and Chani (Zendaya) discussing names for their future child, while also squaring up to the harsh reality of the ongoing war and what they must endure to survive.

The pair had been torn apart at the end of Dune: Part Two, so their reunion suggests major plot developments have taken place. To this end, director Denis Villeneuve confirmed at a launch event on March 16th that there has been a time jump of 17 years after the events of the last film.

Dune: Part Three comes as the next chapter in the massive Hollywood blockbuster trilogy from Villeneuve, with the first two parts of the series being critically acclaimed upon their releases.

Villeneuve previously confirmed that the movie will be the last in the trilogy, based on the 1969 sci-fi novel Dune Messiah, written by Frank Herbert.

The events of the book see Atreides ruling as Emperor for the past 12 years, but in handing himself over to this role, humanity has fallen into excess suffering and so he must endeavour to steer it back on to the least destructive course before it proves too late.

To this end, with a darker turn of events than the previous films, the director said at the launch event (via The Hollywood Reporter) that he considers Dune: Part Three to be a “thriller”.

Speaking of the tone of the film, Villeneuve said: “It’s a very different movie than the first ones. It’s a good idea to come back to those world, not by nostalgia, but by urgency.”

He added: “If the first movie was contemplation, a boy exploring a new world, and the second one is a war movie, this one is a thriller. It is action-packed and tense. More muscular.”

Following the plot of Dune Messiah, there are also a slew of both new and returning characters to the franchise, including fresh turns from Robert Pattinson playing Scythe, and Anya Taylor-Joy playing Atreides’s younger sister, Alia.

Describing the enigma of his character, Pattinson explained (via Deadline): “I wouldn’t say he was a kind of conventional bad guy as such. I don’t think he is. He might even be a good guy. Who knows?”

On top of this, Florence Pugh is set to return to her brief role in the previous film of Princess Irulan, the main romantic competition for Atreides. Heaping praise on her counterpart, Zendaya said: “I love Florence Pugh — so talented, so wonderful in this role. And we said the last time, on the press tour, we only got one scene together and we were far away. And I was like, ‘I hope we get more.’ So I don’t want to tease anything, but she’s absolutely phenomenal. And you guys will just have to see for yourselves what happens because it’s quite the journey.”

Dune: Part Three is set to hit cinemas on December 18th, 2026.

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