Timothée Chalamet finds himself pining for Zendaya while presiding over an intergalactic war in the first teaser for Denis Villeneuve’s highly-anticipated Dune: Part Three.
The upcoming film, set to arrive Dec. 18, is based on Frank Herbert’s Dune Messiah (the sequel to his sci-fi classic, which inspired Villeneuve’s first two films). The new movie takes place 17 years after the events of Dune: Part Two, with Chalamet’s Paul Atreides waging a holy war against his enemies as both Emperor and Fremen messiah — dual roles that cause Lisan al-Gaib no shortage of angst, what with all the killing and slaughter, plus his strained relationship with the Fremen warrior Chani (Zendaya).
The new teaser opens with an exchange between Paul and Chani in happier times as they discuss possible names for their unborn child. But war, violence, destruction, and intrigue soon consume the proceedings. “How did father do it?” Paul asks his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) at one point. She pointedly replies, “Your father never started a war.”
The teaser also offers the first look at Robert Pattinson as Scytale, the shape-shifting antagonist gunning to take down Paul. Anya Taylor-Joy, who made a brief appearance in Dune: Part Two as Paul’s sister, Alia, will also have a much more prominent role in the upcoming film.
Along with Chalamet, Zendaya, and Ferguson, the film’s returning cast includes Florence Pugh, Javier Bardem, and Charlotte Rampling; Jason Mamoa is also set to return as Duncan Idaho, Paul’s friend and mentor. He was last seen in the first Dune movie, where he appeared to meet a grisly end. As for the new cast members, Pattinson will be joined by Isaach de Bankolé, who will play Farok, a Fremen guerrilla fighter who becomes one of Paul’s Fedaykin (personal guards/death commandos).
At a Q&A in Los Angeles to accompany the premiere of the trailer, Villeneuve described Dune: Part Three as “more action-packed and tense” than its predecessors (per Variety). But he also said the story of Paul and Chani’s relationship made it a very personal film.
“It’s a story about Paul and Chani and them struggling with their relationship, having the burden and incredible pressure from the world around them, and Paul is trying to find a way out of this cycle of violence,” the director said. “There’s something about their love, through time and the way they are, their relationship evolves.”
