According to The Hollywood Reporter, Pattinson could be looking to star in Denis Villeneuve’s third Dune movie, and he’s said to be eyed for the role of Scytale—the chief villain in the film. It’s interesting that Pattinson should be considered now, seeing that he was one of the top facasts for Feyd-Rautha before Austin Butler was cast. He also has some onscreen history with Timothee Chalamet as the two had starred together in 2019’s The King.

Going back to Dune though, Scytale was a Face Dancer, which was a sterile species of shape changers. Scytale is considered to be one of the key architects in major events happening during the reign of Paul Atreides, and he is also the one that is responsible for bringing back Duncan Idaho in the form of a clone.

It’s unclear how much of the story could change, but with Chani (Zendaya) rejecting Paul by the end of the movie, some major shifts in the story could be expected when it comes to what went down in the Dune books.

So far, not official offer has been made to Pattinson about the film, but should he accept, some think that it could affect the status of The Batman Part II—which has been delayed to 2027. We don’t know what Matt Reeves has cooking, but he better reveal something soon because fans are starting to lose faith that the sequel is going to happen.

THE BATMAN: PART II is just not happening. The signs are all there. No real development or announcements in many months, the cast signing onto other projects (Pattinson with DUNE, Colin Farrell with SGT ROCK). It’s time to state the obvious: it’s dead.

— Dan Marcus (@Danimalish) April 8, 2025

Dune: Messiah is set to come out Dec. 16, 2026. The Batman Part II is aiming for a release on Oct. 1, 2027.

According to insider Daniel Richtman (via ComicBookMovie), a fourth Dune movie is already moving forward even without Denis Villeneuve, and it’s expected to cover the story of the Atreides that follow after Paul. Though it’s unclear where Villeneuve is going with Messiah, it’s speculated that he’s going to go way off book this time around; especially with the change in Chani’s character.

In the original book, Chani was devoted to Paul and was aware of his plan to take Irulan as his bride. But in the movie, Chani rejects Paul toward the end, since she knows that his rise as the Kwisatz Haderach is nothing more but the continuation of Bene Gesserit plan that would keep the Fremen enslaved.

The further the Dune books went, things just went a lot weirder, with one of Paul and Chani’s children living for centuries and becoming a human/worm hybrid.  The ending of Messiah will probably inform how Dune 4 will go, but as of now, some are doubting the franchise being able to move forward without Villeneuve.

On the other hand, it does seem that Dune: Prophecy is doing pretty well for itself, despite not getting the same hype as the original films.

For now, it’s best to take the news with a grain of salt, but hopefully more will be revealed as development for Dune: Messiah continues. The movie is expected to hit theaters on Dec. 16, 2026.

In a recent ‘For Your Consideration’ video released for Dune: Part Two, Villeneuve talks about the tragedy of Paul and what he ultimately loses by winning against the Harkonnens by the end of the film. Villeneuve explains:

“At the beginning, it starts with the heartbreaking moment where he tells her, ‘I will love you forever,’ but he will have to leave her, and he will know he will break her heart, and in order for the Fremen tribe to survive, he will have to walk a path that will go against her political views; and he knows that it will break her heart as a woman, and he will also break her heart as a Fremen, and he will lose her forever, and this is something that is the tragedy of Paul.”

Director Denis Villeneuve orchestrated the final scene of Dune: Part Two to showcase the heartbreaking tragedy of Paul as he’s forced to choose between his true love and his destiny. #DuneMovie pic.twitter.com/JuxHTj7QRi

— DUNE (@dunemovie) December 30, 2024

One of the biggest differences that the film has with the book is that Chani is given more agency in the movies. In the books she is a blind fanatic of Paul, but in the movies she is critical of Paul’s ascent as Kwisatz Haderach and it’s implied that Chani leaves Paul by the end of the movie.

It’s unclear what Villeneuve has in store for Dune: Messiah, but fans are hopeful that he’ll manage to stick the landing with the trilogy. Hopefully he drives Frank Herbert’s point across when it comes to his warning of mythical ‘chosen one’ figures.

Dune: Messiah is set to release in theatres on Dec. 16, 2026.

Check this out:

Though the story of Paul Atreides’ rise to power has already been told on the big screen, Prophecy takes place 10,000 years before the events of Dune, with the main focus being put on the “Sisterhood”—before they became known as the Bene Gesserit.

While the sisterhood does have a lot of its weird practices, here in Prophecy, it’s clear that they are already positioned close to those in power; we don’t know if they already have their plan set in motion for the coming of the Kwisatz Haderach, but it’s likely that the show could be revealing the origins of that idea being brought forth by Valya Harkonnen (Emily Watson).

We don’t know how long they plan to keep the series running, but with Mark Strong onboard, I have a feeling he could be dead by the end of the season—such is the case of characters played by big name actors in any HBO series (just look at Westworld’s Anthony Hopkins and Game of Thrones’ Sean Bean).

With Denis Villneuve’s Dune 3 still a few years away, a minseries expanding the world could be the perfect thing for fans. With HBO scrubbing properties like Raised by Wolves and Westworld, there’s definitely room for a new sci-fi drama that could be the next flagship for Max.

Watch out for Dune: Prophecy when it releases on Max this coming Nov. 17.

The series is expected to give audiences a look at the past of established houses, and HBO has just dropped a reveal for Constantine Corrino (Josh Heuston). Check this out:

Constantine Corrino.

The new HBO Original Series #DuneProphecy premieres this November on Max. pic.twitter.com/jiTdzcAi3Y

— Max (@StreamOnMax) September 10, 2024

So far, the only thing that’s been revealed about his character is that he’s an illegitimate son of the series’ current Emperor (Mark Strong), and he’s currently torn between wanting his father’s approval or seeking his own happiness.

It’s unclear how Constantine will factor into the plans of the Bene Gesserit, but seeing that their goal is to establish an Emperor which they can fully control, Constantine’s bloodline could prove to be useful for the sisterhood should they decide to do something about Emperor Javicco.

Though Denis Villeneuve did get his greenlight for Dune: Messiah, it’s going to be a while before we actually get to see that movie hit the big screen—a few years at least. For now though, just like with Star Wars and its Disney+ series, Prophecy promises to bring us back to the world of Dune, and it’s going to help flesh out the world more—which I really think is the entire franchise’s main appeal.

If Agatha All Along isn’t your jam, maybe Dune: Prophecy will be the series about witches that could captivate you this year.

Dune: Prophecy is expected to premiere on Max this November.

It’s considered to be one of the most intense fight scenes of the year, and HBO has decided to release the duel online to hype up Dune: Part Two coming to Max. Check this out:

The scene starts with Paul and Feyd-Rautha coming forward to fight to each other, and ends shortly after Paul wins the battle.Personally, my favorite part of the scene which shows how Paul has truly disappeared into the Lisan al Gaib character is when he claims the seat of emperor for himself and announces that he would then take Princess Irulan as his bride—starting the new Holy War.

For now, Denis Villeneuve has been given the greenlight to make a third Dune movie which some say will be called Dune: Messiah. We don’t know how faithfully the story will follow the source material—which a lot of people admit is too bonkers for cinema—but Villeneuve already has a huge change in the script in that the character of Chani (Zendaya) is shown to be resisting Paul rather than following him blindly like in the books.

I’m just hoping Messiah wraps up the whole Atreides timeline after Paul gains power. I don’t think we need to see another 4 movies about how chosen one figures are dangerous.

Dune: Part Two is now streaming on Max. A spinoff titled Dune: Prophecy is also expected to premiere on Max sometime in the fall.

Apparently, the secret was very well kept for a while, and Anya Taylor-Joy talks to Variety about how only her and a small amount of the crew knew about the scene when they were shooting it. Here’s what she says:

“I think the most heartwarming thing about the secret of being in Dune is we all kept it for Denis. Denis desperately wanted to pull this off and if you’ve met him, or you admire him, you’ll know that he is just the most wonderful person and his energy toward filmmaking is so infectious that the idea that there was only twelve people in the world—most of that being the skeleton crew that we took to Namibia to shoot the scene—that we were all sitting on this secret that was really exciting and thrilling to be a part of.”

Anya Taylor-Joy on keeping her "Dune: Part Two" appearance a secret: "Denis [Villeneuve] desperately wanted to pull this off." https://t.co/5xTmyXzy7x pic.twitter.com/U6rCuuO108

— Variety (@Variety) May 7, 2024

In the original book, Alia was actually four-years-old by the time the events of Dune end, but they decided to speed up the events for the film and have Lady Jessica pregnant with her when Paul takes over. Admittedly, this still added to the whole creep-factor of Alia being a talking fetus, and we got to see her personification in Taylor-Joy when she shows up in Paul’s vision when he drinks the Water of Life.

With Dune: Messiah getting the greenlight, we should expect Taylor-Joy to have an expanded role as Alia in the trilogy’s end. Fans don’t expect the movie to be accurate to the events of the book—because it’s too bonkers for cinema—but we should get something that harkens to the original message from Herbert; in that chosen one characters and charismatic leaders aren’t to be trusted and we should always be cautious of them.

No release date has been set for Dune: Messiah yet, but Dune: Part Two is now available on digital. You can also catch Taylor-Joy in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga when it comes to theaters May 24.

Deadline has confirmed that the third part of Villneuve’s planned trilogy, Dune: Messiah, is now official in development. This comes with the announcement that Villeneuve’s next project with Legendary after Messiah will be an adaptation of the nonfiction book Nuclear War: A Scenario written by Annie Jacobsen.

Dune fans will know that the first two movies are actually adaptations of just the first book (among a series of Dune novels). With Dune: Messiah, Villeneuve is expected to delve into the tragedy of House Atreides and where the story goes after Paul names himself as the new emperor of the known universe.

While the first two films were very direct adaptations, Villeneuve is expected to diverge even further from the source material with Messiah. The biggest departure was with the character of Chani (Zendaya). Though Chani was an unwavering supporter of Paul in the books, she had become the character to see the danger of what Paul was to become if they had won against the Harkonnens.

With Dune said to be a cautionary tale on the problem with ‘chosen ones’ and messiahs, Dune: Messiah is expected to drive the point home, complete with the thousands of years of the Atreides domination, and Paul’s son being a literal half-person, half-worm.

It’s going to be wild.

For now, you can enjoy Dune: Part Two which just became available on digital. No release date has been announced for Dune: Messiah.

Talking to Empire, Villeneuve says that he wants to adapt Dune Messiah, Herbert’s follow-up to the original Dune. Villeneuve explains:

“If I succeed in making a trilogy, that would be the dream… Dune Messiah was written in reaction to the fact that people perceived Paul Atreides as a hero… Which is not what he wanted to do. My adaptation [of Dune] is closer to his idea that it’s actually a warning… After that the books become more… esoteric.”

As of now, there hasn’t been anything announced about a sequel, but Villeneuve is already preparing. He couldn’t go into much detail, but he does confirm, “I will say, there are words on paper.”

It has been said that Dune was considered unadaptable by movie standards since the property was more about ideas and thoughts rather than action, but you can’t deny that the world-building is definitely fantastic, and there are still spectacles to be had with the story.

It was actually surprising for a lot of audiences that a Dune sequel was greenlit, given how niche science fiction has become as a genre. I guess the studio is really hoping that if the IP isn’t enough to bring people in, then the star power of Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, and the rest probably would.

Dune: Part Two is set to hit cinemas on March 15, 2024.