Denis Villeneuve Says ‘Dune 3’ Is ‘Not Like a Trilogy’ and Will Be His Last ‘Dune’ Movie: Other Directors Could Take Over So ‘I’m Not Closing the Door’ on the Franchise

variety.com:

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Denis Villeneuve appeared on Vanity Fair’s “Little Gold Men” podcast and stressed that an upcoming third “Dune” movie based on Frank Herbert’s novel “Dune Messiah” is not being developed as the completion of a trilogy in his eyes.

Legendary confirmed in April that development on “Dune 3” was underway following the blockbuster success of “Dune: Part 2,” which grossed $711 million worldwide earlier this year. “First, it’s important that people understand that for me, it was really a diptych,” Villeneuve said of the first two “Dune” movies. “It was really a pair of movies that will be the adaptation of the first book.

That’s done and that’s finished. If I do a third one, which is in the writing process, it’s not like a trilogy. It’s strange to say that, but if I go back there, it’s to do something that feels different and has its own identity.” “Dune Messiah” is set 12 years after the events of the first “Dune” novel, so a film adaptation would likely have to age up Villeneuve’s young cast that includes Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh and more.

The director said “I know how to do that” when asked how he plans to age up the cast but did not share details of his plan. Villeneuve has long expressed interest in making a third “Dune” movie and has often said that would mark his final outing in the franchise.