How many Dune parts are there? Denis Villeneuve has an idea

Director Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s DuneThe second half of this classic sci-fi book will be released in November. Dune: Part two will continue Paul Atreides’ journey of discovery on Arrakis, and explore his relationship with Chani and the Fremen as he seeks revenge against his family’s enemies.

What happens next with Dune? After all, Frank Herbert published six Dune novels (other authors, including son Brian Herbert, have released more than a dozen prequel and sequel books), and Villeneuve’s two-parter will only cover the first of those books. What are the Dune movie releases that we can expect to see?

Villeneuve appears to be taking the franchise on a film-by-film basis, and predicts he’ll ultimately make three Dune movies, adapting the original 1965 novel and Herbert’s 1969 follow-up, Dune Messiah.

“The thing I envision [is]Two books have been adapted into films DuneYou can also find out more about the following: Dune Messiah,” Villeneuve said at a press junket in 2021, as reported by Nerdist. “We decided to split the first novel in two, so now we are at three movies. The movies will take so long to create. For my mental sanity, I decided to just dream about three movies.”

Dune MessiahIt would make it easier for Villeneuve to adapt. The original DuneNovels can be as long as 700 pages. MessiahThis book is a lot leaner at 350 pages (based on current paperback editions).

Whether the film franchise goes beyond three movies and two books is still up in the air (and up to Dune’s continued box office performance). Warner Bros. distributes the Dune movies — Legendary Pictures produces them — and the media conglomerate seems intent on extracting the most out of its intellectual properties. That’s evident in Warner Bros.’ plans to bring Dune to television too, even if those plans have stalled.

Dune: Part twoThe movie (not HBO Max), premieres on November 3.