Part Two Editor Teases Main Character Change in Messiah

Joe Walker, the Oscar winning editor behind many of Denis Villeneuve‘s films, including Dune and Dune: Part Two, cannot wait for the third installment, Dune: Messiah to explore Paul’s drastic shift. The first two movies were set primarily from the perspective of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalame), and followed the character as he grew from the son of Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac) to the Lisan Al’ Gaib and Duke of the planet Arrakis. However, in Dune: Part Two, Villeneuve also laid the groundwork for Paul’s ‘villainous’ shift (which happens in the third book), and audiences cannot wait to see it play out in Dune Messiah.

Joe Walker recently spoke to Comicbook.com about his hopes for the upcoming third installment, and said he’s “very excited” about returning to the world of Dune alongside Denis Villeneuve. While he couldn’t give too many details away, Walker highlighted that Dune: Messiah‘s shift in perspective and scope is something he’s most excited about returning for. The editor said:

“I haven’t read the script and it’s still being worked on, I’m sure. And I love the fact that Denis [Villeneuve] will keep his cards close to his chest until he’s ready, because it spoils something to talk about something before it’s there. I’m very excited about what Paul becomes in that story. And I love the idea of basically trying to assassinate somebody who’s seen everything in advance. I can’t comment too much about it, but I just know it will be just a brilliant thing to go back into that world.”

Dune: Messiah Is Happening… Eventually

Denis Villeneuve split Frank Herbert’s monolithic science-fiction novel into two parts, Dune and Dune: Part Two, in order to give each element the space and attention it deserved, and the director still had to cut some major moments from the book. The moment the credits rolled on Dune: Part Two, audiences were desperate to see what Villeneuve had in store for the third movie, which wasn’t officially confirmed when Part Two was released.

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Dune: Messiah, which will adapt the entirety of Frank Herbert’s second novel in the saga, is moving forward. However, it could be sometime before audiences can witness the finale of Paul Atreides’ story. Speaking to Cine21 earlier this year, Villeneuve gave an insight into the production life-cycle for Messiah, and revealed that it may be put on the back burner while the director focuses his attention on other projects. Villeneuve said:

During the same interview, Villeneuve also teased that Messiah will definitely pay off the shift in perspective of Paul’s character as the franchise’s hero, which was highlighted through the lens of Chani (Zendaya) in Part Two. Villeneuve continued:

“My job was to try to keep the spirit of Frank Herbert alive as much as possible — the whole meaning of
Dune
becomes clear with
Dune: Messiah
.”