Paul Atreides’s holy war has officially begun in Dune: Part Three.

The upcoming installment will adapt Frank Herbert’s Dune Messiah, following Paul’s reign after the events of Part Two. It’s an even darker chapter in the fantasy epic, where the protagonist faces political and familial tensions while holding power as the universe’s emperor.

At CinemaCon 2026, Denis Villeneuve, Jason Momoa, Zendaya, and Timothée Chalamet presented the first seven minutes of Dune: Part Three to close out Warner Bros. Discovery’s presentation, which ScreenRant attended. In the opening scene, “an alarm goes off, followed by ships dropping in the clouds. Thunder and lightning engulf the sky, and there are some explosions. The ships then glide on the surface. Inside the ship are soldiers. Some are sleeping, others are staring off into the distance. One says, “Water will fall from the sky.” They all then repeat, “god be with us.”

The footage reveals that Stilgar is one of the soldiers on the ship. They are close to battle as “chanting is heard, but some soldiers are nervous. The ship lands and opens up. The soldiers look outside in the rain. They charge out, led by Stilgar. They stop walking and look out into the distance. The Fremen leader tells them to get down, then gunfire starts to spray out, killing many of the soldiers and destroying some of the ships. Stilgar uses a telescope and sees that it’s a turret gun. A huge ship then appears in the sky, raining fire down on them. The soldiers run across the battlefield trying to escape.”

As a result of the intense fight, “they hide behind a wall, then go underneath. Stilgar uses his telescope again and views the big ship firing. A huge explosion then engulfs the area, followed by more gunfire. The soldiers attempt to set up a shield piercer to break down the shield. Stilgar says the shield will need all three shots that they have. The shots are fired but bounce back and hit the ship the soldiers are hiding under, crushing some of them. One soldier then runs away in the other direction to try to save his life, but gets killed by the blasts from the enemy.”

The filmmaker described the third installment as an action-packed thriller that’s more intense and emotional. He then elaborated that the film takes place 17 years later in “a very different world, where all the dreams Paul was having came true.” It’s a redemption story where “the heartbeat of film is the love story between Zendaya and Chalamet.”

Chalamet says Paul “has become his worst vision,” and that “he’s struggling to retain the best parts of himself” all while “becoming the all-powerful dark emperor of the universe.” Zendaya says, “The years haven’t been kind to anyone in the film, especially Chani,” since her youthful outlook is “completely gone.”

Villeneuve reaffirms that this is his final Dune installment, expressing that it was emotional to say farewell to the characters. Chalamet added that ending the series has been “extremely emotional” and that “the biggest honor of my career is working with Denis Villeneuve.”

The end of Dune: Part Two saw Paul Atreides defeat his biological grandfather and much of House Harkonnen, thereby getting his revenge for their wrongdoing against his house. In addition, he awarded himself the Imperial throne, declared a holy war, and announced his betrothal to Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh). One key change was that Chani (Zendaya) angrily left after seeing Paul being corrupted for power.

Most of the Dune cast will be returning, including Jason Momoa, who will be playing a clone of his character Duncan Idaho. Anya Taylor-Joy, who made her brief debut in the second installment, will have an upgraded role as Paul’s sister, Alia. One key change from the book is Rebecca Ferguson’s role as Lady Jessica. In the book Messiah, Lady Jessica does not appear. However, Ferguson will return, and her appearance won’t be in a larger capacity.

The newest cast member is Robert Pattinson, who will play the antagonist Scalyte, a Tleilaxu Face Dancer who seeks to dethrone Paul. Additionally, Nakoa-Wolf Momoa and Ida Brooke ​​​​​​will be introduced as Chani and Paul’s children, Leto II and Ghanima Atreides, respectively.

Dune Messiah was previously adapted into a three-part miniseries, Frank Herbert’s Children of Dune, starring James McAvoy. Although it may not be the most flawless compared to the original book, it has been considered a companion installment, as it deconstructs Paul’s “hero journey” and unveils the consequences of his reign.

Villeneuve has confirmed that Dune: Part Three will conclude his trilogy and that he has no plans to adapt any more stories beyond Messiah. He previously revealed that the third installment would continue to show that Paul is not a heroic figure and present him as the antihero of his own story. Although Part Three will be his last with the franchise, he admitted that he will plant the “seed” if anyone wishes to adapt the remaining stories.

Dune: Part Three will be released in theaters on December 18, 2026.

This is a developing story…