Timothée appears in a video message for the trailer event
Timothée Chalamet moved quickly from awards season to promote his upcoming major film. After losing the Best Actor category at the Oscars on Sunday, March 15, 2026, he sent a video message to reporters and media members attending a trailer launch event for Dune: Part Three. In the message, sent on Monday, March 16, 2026, the actor said the film represents the result of a long creative process that began developing in the mid-2010s and moved into production in 2018. He also praised director Denis Villeneuve, calling him a great artist and saying the third installment of the film would not exist without his vision and leadership.
“After two impactful films with an in-development process that started in the [mid-2010s], a production process that started in 2018 and over 150 production days across the three films at large, today we are debuting the trailer to Dune: Part Three,” the actor said in the message. “This film would not exist without the master of cinema, the great artist that is Denis Villeneuve.”
The new film continues Paul Atreides’ story years later
Dune: Part Three adapts Frank Herbert’s 1969 novel Dune Messiah and continues the story of mainPaul Atreides after the events of Dune: Part Two. The events of the new film occur 17 years after Paul, also known as Muad’Dib, helps overthrow the imperial rulers on Arrakis and takes the throne as the emperor. The story will focus on the consequences of those choices and the weight of leadership. Returning cast members include familiar faces like Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Anya Taylor Joy, Javier Bardem and Jason Momoa. New cast additions include Nakoa Wolf Momoa, Ida Brooke and Robert Pattinson.
The release date sets up a major box office battle
The trailer arrived only two days after the 98th Academy Awards, where Michael B. Jordan won Best Actor for Sinners. Timothée Chalamet had also been nominated for Marty Supreme, a movie that received nine Oscar nods but ultimately took home zero wins. Regardless, the actor attended the Oscars and the Vanity Fair afterparty with Kylie Jenner. Earlier in the season, he won awards at the Critics’ Choice Awards and the Golden Globe Awards in January 2026. Meanwhile, Dune: Part Three will open in theaters on December 18, 2026. That is the same date planned for Avengers: Doomsday, setting up one of the premiere release day battles of the year.
