Denis Villenueve will make Dune 3 sooner than he expected, with Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, and Anya Taylor-Joy returning

We could be getting Dune: Messiah sooner than expected, with director Denis Villeneuve revealing that he'll be working on it faster than he thought.

Dune: Part Two released earlier this year to critical and financial success, with Dune released back in 2021. The third movie, based on Dune: Messiah, would pick up 12 years after the events of the second film.

"Let's say," Villeneuve told Deadline , "that I thought that after Part Two that I will take a break, that I will go back in the woods and stay in the woods for a while to recover. But the woods weren't really suiting me, and I would go back behind the camera faster than I think. But that's all I can say."

He also confirmed that key cast members Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, and Anya Taylor-Joy would be returning – Taylor-Joy's Alia Atreides was introduced very briefly in Dune 2. "They have to return. They are with the main cast when it happens," Villeneuve said. "And more worms. What can I say?"

Villeneuve has said before that he thought he was finished with Arrakis after Dune: Part Two. "First, it's important that people understand that for me, it was really a diptych," he commented. "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."

There's no release date for Dune: Messiah just yet. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the most exciting upcoming movie release dates to fill out your watchlist.