‘Dune: Part Three’ Trailer: Timothée Chalamet Flirts with Fascism in Denis Villeneuve’s Sci-Fi Epilogue

The ambitious epilogue is set to hit theaters this December.

During a week when much of Hollywood’s attention is aimed at “The Odyssey,” Warner Bros. is reminding everyone that there’s another star-studded epic from an A-list director hitting theaters this year. The studio has today released the first full trailer (following a previous teaser) for Denis Villeneuve‘s “Dune: Part 3” ahead of its December release date. The trailer was unveiled at a star-studded event held in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning.

The new film, which will complete the saga that Villeneuve launched with 2021’s “Dune” and continued with “Dune: Part Two” in 2024,” sees Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya reprising their respective roles as Paul Atreides and Chani. They’ll be surrounded by one of the starriest ensemble casts in recent memory, as the likes of Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem, Anya Taylor-Joy, Robert Pattinson, Florence Pugh, Josh Brolin, and Charlotte Rampling also appear in the film.

The first two “Dune” films served as a two-part adaptation of Frank Herbert’s original “Dune” novel, and Villeneuve has described the third film as an epilogue to that story that pulls heavily from the second novel, “Dune Messiah.”

While the first book tells a Hollywood-friendly story about a hero fulfilling his destiny to save an oppressed people, “Messiah” takes a darker turn by illustrating how any leader is capable of turning into a demagogue if they’re idolized too much. The new trailer foreshadows some of those sinister plot points, hinting at the darkness lurking within Chalamet’s Paul.

“‘Dune Messiah’ is a book that is by far probably my favorite book of the series. It’s a very dark book, a beautiful book,” Villeneuve said at a March press event for the film. “I will say this, it is one of my most personal films, if not my most personal film. So it’s a film that is very close to me and very contemporary.”

The release of “Dune: Part Three” will be the culmination of a lifelong journey with Herbert’s books for Villeneuve, but the auteur will not be taking much downtime between films. He is expected to jump directly into pre-production for his new James Bond film at Amazon MGM, which is being written by Steven Knight.

A Warner Bros. release, “Dune: Part Three” is set to open in theaters on Friday, December 18. Check out the new trailer below.