Timothée Chalamet says Dune: Part 3 is "the eeriest" entry in Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi saga so far: "It’s a big swing"

Timothée Chalamet has spoken up about Dune: Part Three, and it sounds as though he has been able to explore his character Paul Atreides on a much deeper level this time around in the third installment, which the star calls the creepiest yet.

"On this third one, all the great shit you see on screen is from freedom of movement and freedom of choice," said Chalamet to Matthew McConaughey at Variety and CNN’s town hall event at the University of Texas. "And with Denis, we really had a good rhythm. It’s the eeriest one. It’s a big swing."

Although Chalamet didn't spoil any plot details, he did go into detail about how he approached his final time playing Atreides in Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi trilogy. "I didn’t want to be complacent about a single moment," added Chalamet. "It was my last time doing a Dune film, so I really wanted to treat it as sacred. Because people can get complacent, but I was more intense on the third one. It felt like that was the natural momentum, so I wanted to push against that as hard as I could."

Chalamet's experience on Dune 3 differs from the first film, where he felt "intimidated" and "kind of thrown by the futurism." However, Chalamet took advice from Dune co-star Oscar Ossac. "He treated it in a Shakespearean way," said Chalamet. "To play it heightened and not really care about it being heightened." Isaac's performance encouraged him to take “more liberty than ever.”

The whole Dune team is keeping pretty tight-lipped on the upcoming sequel. However, we know that it will follow Frank Herbert's novel Dune Messiah, which catches up with Emperor Paul Atreides 12 years after Dune: Part Two. Part Three will show Atreides as we've never seen him before, as he struggles with the fact that billions of people died in his name, which has earned him many enemies.

In an interview with GamesRadar+, Chalamet said the third movie will feature a "different" version of Atreides. "Without giving too much away about Dune: Part Three, but I am playing older. And also someone who's been impacted by years of leadership and carries that weight. It's different," he explained.

Dune: Part Three has wrapped filming and will release in cinemas on December 18, 2026. For more, check out our upcoming movies list to make sure you're up to date with all major releases.