Where Is The Rest Of The Dune 3 Cast?
We're still practically a year away from Dune: Part Three's arrival and the conclusion of Paul Atreides' story. Yet, anticipation remains incredibly high for a variety of reasons. Denis Villeneuve is looking to conclude a modern sci-fi masterpiece trilogy with most of the franchise's biggest characters and cast members back in the fold. But updates on what's happening in the world of Arrakis have been surprisingly quiet. Filming came and went without any major looks at the production. The biggest talking points have come from Timothée Chalamet's shaved head appearance before production began and Robert Pattinson's casting. His addition highlights a big difference between Dune 3 and the prior entry.
Robert Pattinson looking shocked in Remember Me
Back in 2022, fans of Dune were treated to a consistent stream of exciting casting announcements for Dune 2. Florence Pugh's addition as Princess Irulan was reported in March, and Austin Butler's casting as Feyd-Rautha became known two days later. The combination of these updates greatly increased anticipation for Dune 2 and made it a collection of Hollywood's biggest young stars. After people buzzed about Pugh and Butler's involvement for months, May 2022 brought the massive reveal that Christopher Walken was playing Emperor Shaddam IV. The following month, Bond veteran Léa Seydoux joined as Lady Margot Fenring. These announcements filled out Dune 2's biggest roles and gave the movie an even flashier ensemble than the first film. Speaking for myself, I was expecting Dune 3 to follow suit and keep generating headlines as major new stars joined the franchise. Pattinson's casting looked to be the start of this, but that isn't what happened. The only other new casting announcements came with Dune 3 finding actors to play Paul and Chani's children: Nakoa-Wolf Momoa as Leto II Atreides and Ida Brooke as Ghanima Atreides. What's so odd about this is that other pivotal roles had to be cast for the movie if it's adapting Dune Messiah as expected. Pattinson is believed to be Scytale, but that still leaves characters like Edric, Korba, Bijaz, Lichna, and Farok without confirmed actors. Considering the importance of their presence in the book, it seemed likely that Villeneuve would increase Dune 3's star power considerably with these roles. Dune: Part Three's Confirmed Cast Members
Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides
Zendaya as Chani
Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan
Anya Taylor-Joy as Alia Atreides
Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho / Hyat
Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck
Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica
Robert Pattinson as Scytale (unconfirmed)
Nakoa-Wolf Momoa as Leto II Atreides
Ida Brooke as Ghanima Atreides
The lack of cast announcements for the expected new characters raises plenty of questions. Has Villeneuve gone in a different direction and found lesser-known actors to play these parts? Has he cut the characters out completely? Will big stars be revealed as members of the cast at a later date?
It's already clear through Dune 3's casting of Paul's children that Villeneuve is changing Messiah in some fashion; I'm among those who think he may also be adapting elements of Children of Dune with this film. If so, then a few of the expected new characters could be scrapped through the director's unique take on Frank Herbert's source material. But, he can't leave all those characters out. There must be at least a few more big new additions to this ensemble besides Pattinson. Perhaps Dune 3 is looking to keep them a secret until the movie comes out, similar to Anya Taylor-Joy's casting as Alia. If so, the sequel may be missing out on a chance to build more hype in the meantime.
Release Date
December 18, 2026
Producers
Mary Parent, Tanya Lapointe, Brian Herbert, Kim Herbert, Byron Merritt, Cale Boyter, David Minkowski, Denis Villeneuve, Ildikó Kemény, Joseph M. Caracciolo Jr.
