Dune 3 will be Denis Villeneuve's last Dune movie – but he hopes the franchise continues after him

Dune director Denis Villeneuve has talked more about the upcoming Dune 3 – and why it won't feel like a trilogy capper. 

The director helmed both Dune and Dune 2, which, according to him, he planned as a duology from the beginning. 

"First, it's important that people understand that for me, it was really a diptych," Villeneuve told Vanity Fair (H/T Variety). "It was really a pair of movies that will be the adaptation of the first book. That's done and that's finished. If I do a third one, which is in the writing process, it's not like a trilogy. It's strange to say that, but if I go back there, it's to do something that feels different and has its own identity."

As for his plans after Dune 3, Villeneuve is looking to move on, though he's not closing the door for other filmmakers. "Listen, if Dune: Messiah happens, it will have been many years for me on Arrakis, and I would love to do something else," he commented. "I think that it would be a good idea for me to make sure that, in Messiah, there are the seeds in the project if someone wants to do something else afterwards, because they are beautiful books. They are more difficult to adapt. They become more and more esoteric. It's a bit more tricky to adapt, but I'm not closing the door. I will not do it myself, but it could happen with someone else."

While you wait for Dune: Messiah, check out our guide to this year's most exciting upcoming movies, or all the major movie release dates of 2024 to fill out your watchlist.