Dune 3 gets an exciting script update from Denis Villeneuve, who confirms he’s in the midst of penning the threequel and teasing its big focus.

Just a few weeks after the threequel was reportedly confirmed to be moving forward, Denis Villeneuve has an exciting script update for Dune 3. The sci-fi epic franchise based on Frank Herbert’s beloved novel is at the height of its success following Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two, which has grossed over $685 million worldwide and garnered even higher critical acclaim than its predecessor. Well before filming even began on the 2024 sequel, Villeneuve had teased his plans to make a third movie based on Herbert’s second book in the franchise, with Legendary confirming it was in development in early April.

During a recent interview with the New York Times to dive into spoilers about the most recent installment, Villeneuve was asked about the development of Dune 3. The co-writer/director was enthusiastic about making progress on the threequel, confirming that he is currently in the midst of writing the script and teasing who will be a key focus in its story. See what Villeneuve shared below:

That anger (felt by Zendaya’s character at the end of Part Two) is tremendous. I don’t want to reveal what I’m going to do with the third movie. I know exactly what to do. I’m writing it right now. But there’s a lot of firepower there, and I’m very excited about that decision.

Dune 3 Has One Major Hurdle To Overcome In Adapting Its Source

While Villeneuve has frequently confirmed that Dune Messiah would be the basis for the third movie in the franchise, his newest comments about the importance of Zendaya’s Chani heading into the threequel indicates the biggest hurdle the filmmaker faces in adapting the book. The 1969 novel picks up 12 years after the events of its predecessor, in which the Fremen warrior is now Paul Atreides’ concubine after he married Princess Irulan in order to take power from Emperor Shaddam IV and free Arrakis.

Where Dune: Part Two essentially picked up right after its predecessor’s ending, the next movie will have to determine whether to utilize a time jump to stay true to Messiah‘s story or make changes to the source material. The Part Two ending in particular did tease a deviation from the story as Chani set off in the desert on a sandworm with a feeling of betrayal at Paul’s decision to wed Irulan. In Herbert’s original novel, Paul and Lady Jessica were able to convince her to accept the political move as he promised to remain completely loyal to her.

Even if Villeneuve makes some changes to the source material for Dune 3, even the most dedicated fans of Herbert’s works are sure to be open to seeing how he does so. Unlike David Lynch’s divisive 1984 adaptation, Villeneuve has proven a greater ability to stay true to the books, meaningfully utilizing his two-part adaptation of the original book to introduce the galaxies-spanning themes, characters and worlds. With Villeneuve also clearly having learned from Dune‘s reviews to craft a more entertaining sequel with Part Two, it seems likely any changes he makes to Messiah won’t be detrimental.