Dune 3 is expected to be Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Dune Messiah, but the threequel should also use another Dune book’s story to make it better. Villeneuve’s first two Dune movies are fairly faithful adaptations of Frank Herbert’s original sci-fi novel. Based on Dune: Part Two‘s ending and where it leaves the characters, the setup already exists for the franchise to move into tackling Herbert’s follow-up book, Dune Messiah. The film picks up Paul Atreides’ story with him as the Emperor of the universe and the struggles he faces as a result of this power.

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune Messiah adaptation is still in the relatively early stages of development, but expectations for what story Dune 3 will tell and who will be involved already exist. The continued exploration of Paul and Chani’s love story is guaranteed, while Princess Irulan and Alia Atreides are poised for an even bigger role. Sticking to the Dune Messiah story even brought teases of bringing back Duncan Idaho like in the source material. Dune 3 is sure to mostly focus on Messiah‘s events and characters, but it should include more from the Dune universe to be a more complete trilogy capper.

Dune Messiah’s Story Skips Over The Story Dune 2’s Ending Sets Up

The Holy War Isn’t In Messiah

One of the potential issues that comes with adapting Dune Messiah is that it does not focus directly on the story that Dune 2‘s ending most prominently sets up. Villeneuve’s film makes a clear point to emphasize the beginning of a Holy War that comes from Paul’s ascension to Emperor. The movie concludes with Paul sending his army of Fremen warriors off Arrakis after the Great Houses do not honor his claim to the throne. This leads Lady Jessica to proclaim that a Holy War is about to begin as Paul’s Jihad ravages any House that does not honor their Lisan Al-Gaib.

Dune Messiah does not cover this event, though. The book picks up 12 years later, well after the conclusion of Dune 2‘s Holy War. This creates a potential conflict in terms of what audiences expect to see in Dune 3 versus what the story might really be. If Villeneuve sticks strictly to the contents of Dune Messiah, then the next chapter of the story will completely avoid the actual events of the Holy War and the early days or years of Paul as Emperor. This feels like a missed opportunity for Dune 3 not to tell these stories.

Dune 3 Should Adapt Parts Of The Paul Of Dune Book

Paul Of Dune Bridges The Gap Between Messiah

The good news for Villeneuve is that there is more material in the Dune universe to pull from when making Dune 3 than just Messiah. This includes Dune books that explore different parts of Paul’s life and the wider universe, including the 12-year gap between Dune and Messiah. One of these additional books is Paul of Dune, a 2008 novel written by Frank Herbert’s son Brian and Kevin J. Anderson. The book chronicled Paul’s youth and the War of Assassins, as well as the immediate aftermath of him becoming Emperor and the Holy War that wages across the galaxy.

It is the latter aspects of Paul of Dune that make it a compelling addition to Dune 3. Denis Villeneuve could use parts of the established franchise canon to bridge the gap between Dune 2‘s ending and the main story that Dune Messiah tells. This would give Dune 3 an opportunity to include more war action scenes as Paul and his Jihad destroy anyone who opposes his rule. Major plot points like Alia killing Lady Margot and Feyd-Rautha’s child and Margot nearly assassinating Paul could be pulled from Paul of Dune‘s pages and incorporated into Dune 3 then.

How Dune 3 Can Use Paul Of Dune’s Story To Enhance Messiah

Denis Villeneuve Can Still Use The Earlier Stories

By utilizing aspects of Paul of Dune, Denis Villeneuve can make Dune 3 an even greater and more fleshed-out continuation of Paul’s life than Frank Herbert’s Dune Messiah was at the time. Showing Paul and his army forcefully take power in the galaxy and dismantle his enemies works directly in setting up the main conflict of Dune Messiah. It could also be a way to further establish that Paul Atreides is a villain by this point in the story. Using Paul of Dune‘s material also could help increase Irulan and Alia’s roles, all while bringing Lady Margot back into the mix.

If Denis Villeneuve does have any interest in using Paul of Dune to make Dune 3, there are various options for how he could incorporate these elements. An opening prologue could be done that chronicles the events between Dune 2 and Dune 3. He could also utilize flashbacks to bring these scenes to life in a more traditional manner. Since Paul’s dreams and visions have been such a focus of the films, nightmares about what happened in his past could also be used to bring in these elements.

Any of these options present the opportunity for Dune 3 to enrich the expected story. Since the Paul of Dune book was written many years after Dune Messiah, it was not part of what Frank Herbert originally created and was made to feature these connections. It is still an effective piece of the wider universe that specifically fills in gaps that could be more pressing for a big-screen adaptation. Dune Messiah was able to get away with the time jump and avoid the Holy War, but Dune 3 doesn’t need to, thanks to what Paul of Dune lays out.