The first trailer for Dune: Part Three, which is being described as the “epic conclusion of the trilogy,” has dropped.
Fans have been going wild over the first look at the third chapter of Denis Villeneuve’s epic adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi saga, with the trilogy capper based on the author’s second book in the original Dune series, “Dune Messiah”.
The trailer looks like this closing chapter will be the darkest yet: a tormented Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) dealing with the Fremen-led holy war he triggered; a battle-ready Chani (Zendaya); a first glimpse at Robert Pattinson as new villain Scytale…
Villeneuve has confirmed that Dune: Part Three takes place 17 years after the events of Dune: Part Two and buzz is building. So much so that a scheduling conflict is rubbing fans up the wrong way.
Dune: Part Three is scheduled to open in theatres worldwide on 18 December – the same day as the new Marvel team-up Avengers: Doomsday hits cinemas.
That means two huge blockbusters are set to compete for screens and audiences on the same weekend.
While this would ordinarily be an amighty SNAFU, programming standards changed in 2023 with “Barbenheimer” – the simultaneous release of Barbie and Oppenheimer on 21 July, which encouraged viewers to watch both movies as a warped double-bill instead of choosing one over the other.
Both stars of Dune and Doomsday, Chalamet and Robert Downey Jr., are all for it, dubbing the event “Dunesday” and clearly hoping that 2026’s clash of the titans can become the next big thing… A zeitgeist-capturing cinemagoing event that will close off the year on a box office high.
It started when Downey Jr. introduced a screening of Chalamet’s Marty Supreme: “We both have films opening on December 18, and we decided to coin it… We’re thinking Dunesday.”
At first, fans of both franchises were game and seemed delighted by the portmanteau, but the double-bill has hit a wall…
Considering how promising the trailer for Dune: Part Three looks, people are now calling on Marvel to rethink its release date, fearing that Doomsday will be overshadowed by Villeneuve’s film. And Marvel can’t afford that.
The MCU’s post-Infinity Saga (2008-2019) films, dubbed the Multiverse Saga (2021-present day), have seen the brand stumble. Audiences have been getting tired of having to do homework in order to make sense of all the ins and outs of the studio’s ongoing multiverse narratives. And quality has been spotty.
There’s a lot at stake for Marvel with the upcoming double-tap of Doomsday and its follow-up Avengers: Secret Wars, before an announced “reset” of the MCU. They can’t risk more dwindling numbers at the box office and middling reviews.
They’ve tried to ensure the worst doesn’t happen by rehiring Joe and Anthony Russo, the directors of the last Avengers movies, and by getting both Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans to come back – something which many fans saw as a “when in doubt, look backwards” strategy.
A desperate bit of nostalgia-pandering re-casting that feels like a last-ditch attempt to claw back to the glory days of Phases 1 – 3? Or an inspired coup that will hopefully not tarnish Avengers: Infinity War / Endgame?
Whatever it is, it doesn’t save Doomsday from facing strong competition, and after seeing the Dune: Part Three trailer, fans seem convinced that the Lisan al Gaib vs Tinhead match shouldn’t take place.
Check out some of the reactions below:
While it may be too soon to completely bury the idea of Dunesday, and quite aside from how promising the new Dune trailer looks, there is one aspect of the Barbenheimer-aping double-bill that doesn’t work.
What made Barbenheimer such an epic cinematic clash was whiplash-inducing medley. Both Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer couldn’t have been more diametrically opposite in story, tone, themes and colour palette. The D-cup / A-bomb double billing was inspired because it offered variety.
Even if you could argue that J. Robert Oppenheimer and Barbie both had death on the mind and were plagued by it…
When it comes to Dune: Part Three and Avengers: Doomsday, they are both sci-fi action franchises which explore different themes, granted, but share a similar audience. Additionally, both films continue narratives from previous instalments, whereas Barbie and Oppenheimer were standalones.
By releasing the two films on the same date, both studios run the risk of audience fatigue. There will be no palette cleanser, no light-hearted comedy to counterbalance the seriousness. Dunesday either be a two-punch sci-fi knockout or straight submission after Round One.
Let them fight?
Dune: Part Three and Avengers: Doomsday come to theaters on 18 December 2026… For now.