In 2021, Denis Villeneuve took on the biggest challenge of his career thus far when he set out to adapt Frank Herbert’s beloved sci-fi book Dune for the big screen. It was a leap of faith for the Blade Runner 2049 helmer, especially considering how split critics were on the now cult-classic adaptation that David Lynch released several decades ago. But, this time around, audiences were not only ready to immerse themselves in the darkly fantastical world of Arrakis, but they praised Villeneuve’s carefully calculated vision that threw Timothée Chalamet into the role of Paul Atreides. After multiple awards and a smash-hit sequel that took the franchise to new heights in 2024, fans are counting down the days until Dune: Part Three blesses us in cinemas on December 18.
Pulling his story from Herbert’s 1969 novel Dune Messiah, Villeneuve will continue to tell the tale of Paul Atreides as he continues the war he triggered in the sequel. It’s an all-out holy war, with multiple armies rising against one another. Of course, this means that Chalamet will reprise his role as the main character, with Zendaya also returning as Chani. The movie will also explore Paul and Chani’s relationship and the children they’ll soon welcome into the world. Beyond that, we finally get more from Anya Taylor-Joy as Paul’s younger sister, Aila Atreides, who was introduced in the previous film.
Taking the stage at CinemaCon, alongside a group dressed like Fremen,Villeneuve described the third installment of the trilogy as a “thriller” and a “redemption” story before welcoming Jason Momoa, Zendaya, and Timothée Chalamet to the stage. Together, they presented the first seven minutes of the movie, much to the excitement of the audience. Picking up more than a decade after the sequel, our first look opens on a group of soldiers dropping onto a planet to lead an attack. From the back of the lineup, Javier Bardem’s Stilgar emerges while the men chant for their cause. Upon landing, they step out into the rain (which many of them are seeing for the first time) and confront their enemy. To their surprise, the enemy launches a counterattack that wipes out a good portion of the crew. Despite the all-out assault, the team persists with Stilgar leading them every step of the way.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Who Else Stars in ‘Dune: Part Three’?
Numerous familiar faces are coming back to the fold for what Warner Bros. is dubbing the completion of its Dune cinematic universe (at least for now). Included in the lineup of those reprising their roles are Florence Pugh (Midsommar), Rebecca Ferguson (Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man), Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones), Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men) and Charlotte Rampling (The Little Stranger). Newcomers are also abundant in the third chapter of Villeneuve’s Dune, with folks like Robert Pattinson (The Twilight Saga) and Isaach de Bankolé (The People We Hate at the Wedding) joining the fold.
Dune: Part Three arrives in cinemas on December 18 where it will clash at the box office with Avengers: Doomsday for the ultimate holiday showdown. Stay tuned to Collider for more to come from CinemaCon.
