First “Dune: Part Three” Looks Reveal Timotheé Chalamet’s Transformation & Robert Pattinson’s Villain
Yesterday in Los Angeles, Denis Villeneuve was on hand to discuss how Dune: Part Three used IMAX cameras to create what he considers the most epic, intense film in his trilogy. Our writer Simon Thompson was on hand, and we’ll be sharing his story from the event when the embargo lifts today at 10 am PT. Until then, we can share new looks at Villeneuve’s trilogy capper, which features a transformed Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides and Robert Pattinson as the film’s villain, Scytale, a shapeshifting “Face Dancer” who can mimic others’ appearances. He was revealed in Frank Herbert’s book “Dune: Messiah.”
Got to see the first trailer for Dune: Part Three at a VERY special event here in LA this afternoon. My lips are sealed until 10am PT tomorrow morning when the trailer drops and the coverage embargo lifts. #DuneMovie pic.twitter.com/m21gRnW4A7
— Simon Thompson (@ShowbizSimon) March 16, 2026
The image of Chalamet’s Atreides shows just how much the character has endured since his successful revenge against Stellan Skarsgård’s Baron Vladimir Harkonnen in Dune: Part Two, and his defeat of both Austin Butler’s sociopathic Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen and Christopher Walken’s feckless Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV. Atreides’ rise from princeling to Emperor after negotiating a political marriage to Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) and turning his back on his actual love, the Fremen warrior Chani (Zendaya). That ascent has cost him dearly, from the looks of him, now with scarring and wrinkles around his eyes.
Warner Bros. has released character posters for all the major roles, along with Chalamet’s Atreides and Pattinson’s Scytale. We have an equally transformed Pugh as Irulan, returning from Dune: Part Two, along with four seasoned Dune veterans, all returning: Zendaya as Chani, Jason Momoa as Hayt, Javier Bardem as Stilgar, and Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica. Anya Taylor-Joy reprises her brief but crucial role from Part Two as Alia Atreides, Paul’s sister, and Isaach De Bankolé joins the cast as Farok.
Despite Villeneuve’s film having Part Three in its title, the director has stressed that he doesn’t necessarily view his three-film epic as a trilogy. “It was really a diptych,” he recently told Vanity Fair. Villeneuve went on to tell VF that if he came back for a third film, it wouldn’t complete a trilogy but instead stand on its own. “It was really a pair of movies that will be the adaptation of the first book. That’s done, and that’s finished. If I do a third one, which is in the writing process, it’s not like a trilogy. It’s strange to say that, but if I go back there, it’s to do something that feels different and has its own identity.”
Dune: Part Three is set to hit theaters on December 18, 2026. Check out the character posters below.
Featured image: Timothée Chalamet is Paul Atreides in “Dune: Part Three.” Courtesy Warner Bros.
