How Many Dune Movies Are There?

There are three released Dune movies: Dune (1984), directed by David Lynch, followed by Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024), both directed by Denis Villeneuve. Dune Part Three, which TheWrap reports Villeneuve is directing, is dated for December 18, 2026 and will make four. All of them adapt Frank Herbert's novel and its sequel material, and the whole series sits on the Dune movies hub.

Budgets and grosses come from Box Office Mojo, and the Dune box office page breaks them down in full.

Dune (1984) is a standalone film because it is a separate production from the Villeneuve films, with a different director and a different cast. Lynch's version reached US theaters on December 14, 1984, ran 136 minutes, and cost $40 million against a worldwide gross of about $31.5 million, according to Box Office Mojo. Kyle MacLachlan played Paul Atreides, Francesca Annis played Lady Jessica, Patrick Stewart played Gurney Halleck, and Sting played Feyd Rautha, with Brian Eno credited as composer. If you are asking about the Villeneuve saga only, leave this film out of the count, and if you are asking about every Dune feature film, include it. For a sense of how the films compare with the books, see Dune books vs movies.

Villeneuve directed Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024), and TheWrap reports that he is also directing the upcoming Dune: Part Three. Dune (2021) premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 3, 2021, and opened in the US on October 22, 2021. It runs 155 minutes, had a budget of $165 million, and earned about $411 million worldwide. Its cast was led by Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica Atreides and Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides.

Dune: Part Two reached US theaters on March 1, 2024, after its original November 3, 2023 date was lost to the SAG-AFTRA strike and a later March 15 slot was brought forward. It runs 167 minutes, had a budget of $190 million, and grossed about $715 million worldwide. Zendaya's Chani moved to the front of the billing, and Austin Butler played Feyd-Rautha. Anyone starting from scratch will find the sequence in Dune movies in order, and the in-story sequence in the Dune timeline.

Dune: Part Three is the fourth Dune feature film once the 1984 version is counted, and, according to TheWrap, the third directed by Villeneuve. Variety's Australian edition reported the title on July 9, 2025, noting that the film had previously been reported under the name Dune Messiah. TheWrap reported the December 18, 2026 date on March 17, 2026, when a trailer was released, along with IMAX screens secured for opening weekend. The A.V. Club reported that the film shares its date with Avengers: Doomsday.

TheWrap also reported that Chalamet, Zendaya, Javier Bardem, Ferguson and Florence Pugh return as Paul, Chani, Stilgar, Lady Jessica and Princess Irulan. The same outlet reported that Anya Taylor-Joy plays Alia Atreides, Robert Pattinson plays Scytale, and Jason Momoa appears as Hayt. No UK or Australian release date has been reported so far. Footage is gathered under the Dune Part Three trailer listing, and the returning credits sit under Dune cast.

There are three because Herbert's novel has been filmed in two separate attempts, and the second attempt was deliberately split into parts. In my opinion, that split is the real answer to the count. Herbert's book follows a young heir whose family is handed a desert planet that produces the spice, and then follows what that inheritance costs him. Lynch fitted the setup, the move to Arrakis and the aftermath into 136 minutes, with Sting's Feyd Rautha and Kenneth McMillan's Baron Vladimir Harkonnen among a very large ensemble.

Villeneuve took the opposite route. Dune (2021) spends 155 minutes on the setup alone, ending with Paul only beginning to meet the Fremen, and Dune: Part Two opens in the deep desert at Sietch Tabr with the Atreides already destroyed. The split paid off commercially: according to Box Office Mojo, Dune: Part Two grossed about $715 million worldwide on a $190 million budget, against about $411 million on $165 million for Dune (2021), while Lynch's film took about $31.5 million on $40 million. It could be argued that this growth is why a third Villeneuve film exists at all. Dune: Part Three was previously reported as Dune Messiah, which is the title of Herbert's follow up novel. Whether any film follows Part Three has not been announced.

Four Dune feature films are on record, three released and Dune: Part Three dated for December 18, 2026, so four is the total at this point. Anything beyond Part Three is unconfirmed. Television titles such as Dune: Prophecy and Children of Dune are not feature films, so they sit outside the film count.

Film by film, the cast carries over in recognizable ways. The Dune characters hub covers Paul Atreides, Chani, Lady Jessica and Baron Harkonnen, each played by different actors in 1984 and in the Villeneuve films. Streaming availability in the US, UK and Australia is covered under where to watch Dune, and Dune movies ranked gives an opinionated order.