Denis Villeneuve Will Stop Making ‘Dune’ Movies After ‘Dune 3,’ Despite More Books in the Series: ‘Dune Messiah Should Be the Last for Me’

Denis Villeneuve has been quite vocal about his intention to make a third “Dune” movie, which would be based on Frank Herbert’s second novel in the series, “Dune Messiah.” Warner Bros. has not yet given the official greenlight on “Dune 3,” but, should the studio move forward, it will most likely mark Villeneuve’s final installment in the franchise despite Herbert’s literary series continuing with various sequels such as “Children of Dune,” “God Emperor of Dune,” “Heretics of Dune” and “Chapterhouse: Dune.”

“’Dune Messiah’ should be the last ‘Dune’ movie for me,” Villeneuve confirmed to Time magazine in a new interview ahead of the theatrical release of “Dune: Part Two.”

The director said last December that “Dune Messiah” is “being written right now,” adding: “The screenplay is almost finished but it is not finished. It will take a little time … There’s a dream of making a third movie … it would make absolute sense to me.”

Zendaya, who stars as Chani in Villeneuve’s “Dune” movies, was recently asked by Fandango whether she would want to return for a third movie.

“Would we be down? I mean of course,” Zendaya said when asked about making another. “Any time Denis calls it’s a yes from me. I’m excited to see what happens. I started [reading] ‘Messiah’ and I was like, ‘Woah, I’m only shooting the first movie. Let me just go back to the first one.’ It’s so much to take in, but there’s no better hands with better care and love for it than Denis.”

“The idea excites me very much,” franchise leading man Timothée Chalamet later told Total Film magazine. “If the time and opportunity comes to complete the story with ‘Messiah,’ I think we’re all super enthusiastic about that.”

If Villeneuve gets the chance to direct “Dune Messiah,” it might not happen for a bit of a time. He’s spent the last six years devoted to making his first two “Dune” movies, and he might need a palette cleanser before he makes a third. He said at a press conference in South Korea last year that “there was no gap” between the first two movies, and he’ll want space before “Messiah.”

“I don’t know exactly when I will go back to Arrakis,” Villeneuve said. “I might make a detour before just to go away from the sun. For my mental sanity I might do something in between.”

“Dune: Part Two” opens in theaters March 1 from Warner Bros.