Dune: Part Three Finds Paul a Battle-Tested Ruler as Timothée Chalamet Praises Denis Villeneuve’s Inspiring Vision

Timothee Chalamet says Paul Atreides is not the same guy we left in Part Two. The next film jumps way ahead, and Paul has been in charge long enough to feel the dents.

So what changes in Part Three?

Chalamet told GamesRadar+ while promoting his new movie 'Marty Supreme' that the story picks up about 15-20 years after the last film. He is playing Paul older, with the weight of rulership baked in. He kept plot specifics close to the vest, but the vibe is clear: this is a different Paul.

"I am playing older. And also someone who has been impacted by years of leadership and carries that weight. It is different."

Villeneuve, threequels, and threading the needle

Chalamet did not want to tip the tone of the movie, but he did praise Denis Villeneuve for zeroing in on the tricky part: making a third film that lives up to two very well-received chapters. He said their conversations have been realistic about the challenges, and that watching Villeneuve tackle a threequel head-on has been genuinely inspiring from an artist point of view.

Filming back-to-back with something totally different

The actor shot 'Marty Supreme' right up against 'Dune: Part Three', and he says the wildly different tones made that doable. If the roles had been similar, he worried they might blur together. Instead, one is a high-wire, Safdie-flavored New York period piece set in the 1950s about a borderline delusional, ambitious character; the other is a full-on Denis Villeneuve sci-fi space opera. In other words: no confusion.

• Timeline: The story is set roughly 15-20 years after Part Two. Chalamet says he wrapped filming on Part Three last month. The movie opens December 18, 2026.
• Cast: Returning faces include Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Josh Brolin, Christopher Walken, and Jason Momoa. New addition: Robert Pattinson. (Yes, that roster raises eyebrows if you are keeping score, but that is the list.)
• Source material: The threequel adapts Frank Herbert's 'Dune: Messiah', with Paul at the center of an intergalactic clash between the Fremen and basically every other power trying to control Spice.

Bottom line: expect an older, heavier-on-the-shoulders Paul, a director who knows the third-movie tightrope, and a big, time-jumping swing into 'Messiah' territory.