Anya Taylor-Joy had a brief but meaningful cameo in Dune: Part Two, but will she return in Dune: Messiah?

Anya Taylor-Joy has a sand-filled year: she will lead George Miller’s Furiosa, a new installment in the Mad Max franchise, and has made her debut in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two. Now the actress has addressed whether her short cameo from the successful blockbuster will translate into a bigger role in the third installment.

Dune: Part Two was Denis Villeneuve’s second part of the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune novel, completing the story of its 2021 predecessor. The second film saw the return of several key characters from the first one, with several important additions. Among them was Taylor-Joy’s surprise cameo, which had a very important meaning. Anya Taylor-Joy starred as Alia Atreides, Paul’s unborn little sister, and she appears to him in a vision.

Her cameo was short, but there are a lot of possible ways Taylor-Joy’s character can make for a more significant role in the upcoming third film, currently known as Dune: Messiah. So far, there is no official release date for the third installment, which has officially been confirmed. In her new interview with British GQ, Anya Taylor-Joy also revealed what she knows about her possible return in Dune: Messiah.

“I’ll know when you do,” Taylor-Joy says. “I think we’re all really hopeful.” She also noted that she has already prepared physically for what the role would entail. “Listen, I’m ready now, I’ve done the training,” she says. “I think you kind of need to do the movie in order to be ready for it.”

Talking about her two post-apocaylptic films (Dune: Part Two and the upcoming Furiosa), the actress explained she trained hard for the roles. “It was a fucking mountain made of sand. Every step you take, you fall,” she says. “There was a very real moment halfway through where, I can guarantee you, every single one of us was like ‘I can’t fucking make it; bury me here.’”

Dune Director Teased Anya Taylor-Joy’s Return

If the upcoming film follows the events of Frank Herbert’s second book, titled Dune Messiah, Alia Arteides plays an important part. Director Denis Villeneuve recently teased Taylor-Joy’s return in a conversation with Variety.

“Anya was Alia as soon as I met with her. In fact, I realized after the fact, she has always been Alia. Anya feels out of this world, as though she belongs to some other dimension, one step into the area,” Villeneuve praised the actress.

The director also praised her work ethic and teased her return in the upcoming installment. “Shooting with Anya in Africa was nothing short of magical. Her generosity, candor and passion truly moved me. I can’t wait to go back on Arrakis with her,” he said.

There is no official release date for Dune: Messiah, but fans can expect a similar wait to the first two films. The first Dune premiered in 2021, with Dune: Part Two following in 2024, with the third possibly arriving sometime in 2027, as there is no finished script or production date announced.