Denis Villeneuve says he needs a “very powerful rocket” to pull him away from the world of Dune as he prepares to direct the next James Bond film.
“I said, ‘Maybe it’s a good idea to go back to this project, not out of nostalgia, not because I miss it, but the opposite – I’m tired of it.’ I want to make sure that I will be severe with the material. That I will not be complacent,” Villeneuve told Empire magazine.
“I thought, ‘When it’s done, I need a very powerful rocket to pull me away from Arrakis.’ When I was asked to do the next Bond, I said, ‘OK, this is what I need.’”
Dune, based on Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi novel, follows Paul Atreides, played by Timothée Chalamet, whose family becomes embroiled in a struggle for control of Arrakis, a desert planet that holds the key to the galaxy’s most valuable resource.
The 2021 film, also starring Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem, won six Academy Awards.
The sequel, Dune: Part Two, arrived in 2024, bringing back Chalamet and Zendaya alongside Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, and Christopher Walken. The film grossed more than $715m worldwide, and won two Oscars.
The final film in the trilogy, Dune: Part Three, is based on Herbert’s 1969 novel Dune Messiah. New additions to the cast include Robert Pattinson, Nakoa-Wolf Momoa and Ida Brooke.
Production began in July 2025, with filming taking place in Abu Dhabi’s Liwa Desert and in Hungary.
Villeneuve was announced as the director of the next Bond film by Amazon MGM Studios in June 2025. In the official announcement, Villeneuve recalled watching Bond films with his father, beginning with Dr No, the 1962 film starring Sean Connery.
“I’m a die-hard Bond fan. To me, he’s sacred territory,” he said. “I intend to honour the tradition and open the path for many new missions to come.”
The next film will be the first Bond instalment developed under Amazon MGM Studios’ creative control following its March 2025 joint venture with longtime franchise stewards Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson.
Amy Pascal and David Heyman are producing while Villeneuve’s wife and creative partner, Tanya Lapointe, is serving as executive producer, according to the studio.
The screenplay is being written by Steven Knight, the British creator of Peaky Blinders.
As for who will inherit the role from Daniel Craig, who last played James Bond five years ago in No Time to Die, remains an open question.
Amazon MGM Studios said in May that the search for the next 007 was underway, adding that they were “excited to share more news with 007 fans as soon as the time is right”.
Among the names being tipped for the role are Scottish actor Jack Lowden, best known for the BBC spy drama Slow Horses, and English actor Callum Turner, known for Fantastic Beasts.
Dune: Part Three is set to arrive in cinemas on 16 December 2026.