Denis Villeneuve’s highly anticipated movie, ‘Dune: Part Three‘, has finally dropped its trailer, offering the first glimpse of what’s to come in the third chapter. It has been heavily marketed as what the creator calls the “epic conclusion” of the trilogy.
Fans of the films may not take issue with this, but longtime readers of Frank Herbert’s original six novels might find it surprising if the word “conclusion” is taken at face value.
Is ‘Dune: Part Three’ Trying to Adapt the Entire Saga or Just One Book?
Villeneuve’s first two installments were based on Herbert’s 1965 novel, ‘Dune‘. So, did he compress all the remaining novels into a single film for the final chapter? The answer, much to the delight of readers, is no. After all, condensing nearly 5,000 years of future history into one movie would be nearly impossible if the creators intend to remain true to the core of the books.
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As it turns out, ‘Dune: Part Three‘ is an adaptation of the second novel in the series, ‘Dune Messiah‘.
How ‘Dune: Part Three’ Trailer Differs from the Original Books
The upcoming installment’s trailer differs significantly from the original book, particularly in terms of timeline. The most striking element is the portrayal of the main protagonist, Paul Atreides (played by Timothee Chalamet), leading a holy war across the galaxy, events that, surprisingly, occur mostly off-page or in the background in ‘Dune‘ and ‘Dune Messiah‘. Thus, the film appears to depict events directly that were not shown in the books.
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Secondly, the trailer shows Alia as a fully grown adult, whereas in the novels, she only becomes an adult in ‘Children of Dune‘. Any reader of the novel would find this strange and rightfully so, because Alia was not even born in ‘Dune: Part Two‘. This raises an important question: how much time has passed in the film, given that in ‘Dune Messiah‘, Alia is only a teenager?
Chalamet also discussed the significant time jump in the ‘Dune‘ series, especially in ‘Dune: Part Three‘ during an appearance on ‘The Graham Norton Show.’ He said, “There’s supposed to be a nice character shift. I’m playing 15, 20 years older.“
Is ‘Dune: Part Three’ Staying True to Dune Messiah or Quietly Rewriting the Timeline?
While the movie’s trailer differs in several crucial aspects, it also presents several important events from the book. For example, Paul and Chani discuss naming their children, Ghanima and Leto II. Additionally, Duncan Idaho returns as a clone called Hayt, a copy of the original Duncan who still retains memories of his past.
That said, if ‘Dune: Part Three‘ follows only ‘Dune Messiah‘ and not ‘Children of Dune‘, then it differs primarily in two ways: first, in its timeline, as mentioned earlier; and second, perhaps most notably, in that it effectively treats the first two books as a complete trilogy.
So, to sum it all up, the only way ‘Dune: Part Three‘ can truly be considered an “epic conclusion” is if it blends elements of ‘Dune Messiah‘ and ‘Children of Dune‘ into a single film.
Major Box Office Clash in December
‘Dune: Part Three‘ is scheduled to be released on December 18 this year, marking a high-profile box office clash with ‘Avengers: Doomsday‘ and setting up the perfect Christmas treat for movie lovers who have long awaited such a major cinematic showdown, something not seen since the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon in 2023.
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