Dune 2 may not have even been released in cinemas yet, but stars Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya say they're already "super enthusiastic" to hear director Denis Villeneuve's plans for Part 3.
Speaking to Total Film in our new issue, which features Dune: Part 2 on the cover and is out this Thursday, Villeneuve describes the exciting two installments of Dune as a "complete" story, before going on to suggest that Part 2's "heartbreaking" conclusion could set up events further explored in another sequel.
"All of the elements are there," Villeneuve explains. "But I think the movie adaptation is more tragic than the book. The way that Part Two ends… it would create a total balance and equilibrium to finish Paul’s storyline in what we could say in Part Three."
Based on the first half of Frank Herbert's 1965 novel, Dune centers on Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), the son of a powerful Duke, whose life gets turned upside down when his father Leto (Oscar Isaac) accepts a stewardship role on the hostile planet of Arrakis. At the end of Part 1, Paul and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson, who also returns in the follow-up), align themselves with the desert world's people, the Fremen, in an attempt to free it from the unlawful, brutal Harkonnens and fulfil Leto's dream of bringing peace to the land.
Part 2 will pick up where the original leaves off, with Paul, Jessica, and Chani (Zendaya) making a play for power against Christopher Walken's ruthless Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV. What's in store beyond that when it comes to the big screen adaptations – HBO is currently developing a spin-off series – remains a mystery for now...
"Denis is an artist, and doesn't like to share things until he's got it figured out. So whenever he's ready, we’re all keenly ready to hear what his vision is," Zendaya says of Villeneuve's yet-to-be-revealed hopes for the franchise.
"The idea excites me very much," adds Chalamet, who has yet to receive the crucial greenlight text from Villeneuve. "If the time and opportunity comes to complete the story with Messiah, I think we're all super-enthusiastic about that."
Dune: Part 2 releases on March 1. You can read more about it, and a whole lot else besides, in the new issue of Total Film when it hits shelves and digital newsstands on Thursday, February 1. Check out the covers below:
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