Denis Villeneuve's epic Dune: Part Two left audiences with all signs pointing to a third movie, but, according to the filmmaker himself, the sequel's future is up in the air.
In an interview with Empire, Villeneuve expressed that he's unsure if he'll go through with a third film based on Frank Herbert's Dune Messiah.
"I felt that it was a good idea to move forward right after Part One. We were already designing, writing, et cetera," he recalled. "But it also meant that for six years I was on Arrakis non-stop, and I think it will be healthy to step back a little bit."
If he does end up circling back to the franchise, he's laid out some strict conditions for the movie's pre-production.
"First, make sure that we have a strong screenplay. The thing I want to avoid is not having something ready. I never did it, and now I feel it could be dangerous because of the enthusiasm. We need to make sure all the ideas are on paper," he said. "If we go back, it needs to be real, it needs to be relevant. If ever I do Dune Messiah, [it's] because it's going to be better than Part Two. Otherwise, I [won't] do it."
So, the bad news is that the fantastic Dune franchise may have ended with Part Two. The good news is that, if it happens, the third film promises to be the best yet.