Zendaya’s Vague Dune 3 Update Has Fans Bracing For Controversy

Summary:

• Denis Villeneuve recently confirmed that the script for Dune 3 is almost finished
• Zendaya expresses her desire to reprise her role, but believes that the director will keep the actors in the dark until the last moment
• Fans point out that the script does indeed need a lot of development and polishing due to the controversial nature of the source material

It's been over two years since the first part of Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune was released in October 2021, and fans have been clamoring for a sequel ever since as the story abruptly ended right before the most interesting part.

Unfortunately, the release of Dune: Part Two has been delayed four times, adding to the fans' impatience, and is currently expected to be released on March 1, 2024, unless some unexpected complications suddenly arise.

However, since it will only be the conclusion of the first chapter of the story, fans have long been expecting the filmmaker to adapt the rest of the Dune novels to the big screen.

The Chances Of Dune 3 Happening Are Pretty High

Much to their delight, Villeneuve revealed that adapting the second book, Dune Messiah, has been a longtime dream of his, and in December 2023, the filmmaker mentioned that the script for the third film is almost finished.

Now, in an interview with Fandango, Zendaya Coleman, who portrays Chani, the future wife of Paul Atreides, stated that she wouldn't even question reprising the role for a third installment.

Still, the actress has no idea when Villeneuve will move forward with another Dune movie, as the director, being an absolute perfectionist, will most likely keep even the cast in the dark until everything is ready.

Fans point out that the filmmaker will definitely need to polish the script as much as possible, as Dune Messiah is an incredibly difficult source material to get through, even for fans of the books.

Some even believe that no matter what he does, the third movie is sure to provoke some pretty controversial reactions, simply because the same situation happened when the original novel was released.

Minor spoilers for Dune Messiah ahead.

Dune 3 Seems Destined To Spark Backlash

The second novel proved to be rather anticlimactic, subverting the expectations of most readers, and of course not everyone appreciated such a turn of events at the time.

Instead of upping the stakes from the first book and delivering an epic adventure, Messiah skipped the Jihad almost entirely and focused on deconstructing the "chosen one" trope, making it feel more like an epilogue than a true sequel.

In light of all this, it is quite likely that even if Villeneuve creates a pitch-perfect script, the very nature of the source material could lead to a backlash from viewers, not all of whom are familiar with the original novels and know what to expect.

Others, however, feel that with some necessary changes, such as the inclusion of flashbacks to the Jihad, Dune 3 could be more in line with the first two films and blunt the edges of the original story, making it more suitable for the majority of viewers.

But another possible problem remains, because if the third movie comes out, audiences will undoubtedly expect the rest of the novels to be adapted, which may not happen.

In an interview with Empire, Villeneuve mentioned that he would have preferred Dune 3 to be the last movie in the series, as he feels it is a perfect conclusion to the story and is not thrilled with the idea of adapting the rest of the "more esoteric" novels.

However, all of this remains mere speculation, as Dune: Part Two hasn't even been released yet, so for now, fans can only wait and see how everything turns out.

Sources: Fandango via YouTube, Reddit, Empire