'Dune: Part Three' Trailer Has Arrived — And Even Die-Hard Fans Are Confused

The first trailer for Denis Villeneuve's upcoming Dune: Part Three has arrived, and the internet has been taken aback by the director's bold, transformative vision of this iconic sci-fi franchise.

The sequel takes place almost two decades after the conclusion of the previous movie, with Timothée Chalametplaying an older, more mature version of Paul Atreides during his violent conquest of the known universe. The film—which is inspired by Frank Herbert's book 'Dune Messiah'—is set to be a much darker, grittier story than the previous two.

The trailer also offers glimpses of Anya Taylor-Joy as Paul's sister Alia Atreides, and Robert Pattinson as the shapeshifting antagonist, Scytale. Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Javier Bardem, and Florence Pugh all return to their roles from the previous film.

Although Villeneuve has been extremely vocal about his willingness to change certain details from Herbert's books in order to make the story more accessible to general audiences, Dune fans are still shocked by some of the major changes that have already been made.

Most notably, the inclusion of Rebecca Ferguson's character, Lady Jessica, is a clear change; she doesn't appear in 'Dune Messiah'—Paul's mother doesn't return until the subsequent novel, 'Children of Dune'.

This has fueled speculation that Villeneuve will incorporate aspects of the 'Children of Dune' story into Dune 3, perhaps explaining why he neglected to adopt the 'Messiah' in the film's title. This has also been evidenced by Anya Taylor-Joy's character, Alia Atreides—whose appearance in the trailer seems to reference her subplot from 'Children of Dune'.

Many book fans also have questions about Florence Pugh's character, Princess Irulan, who appears on a promotional poster covered in a chalk-like substance that masks her appearance. This never appeared in the books, and the internet has already come up with several theories about what Villeneuve is attempting with this unusual change.

"I’ve read all six of Frank Herbert’s books," wrote one X user, "and none of [Irulan's appearance] is in there. It’s probably just a creative liberty on Villeneuve’s part. His version of Irulan is quite different from the one in the books overall."

"I feel like this is some kind of humiliation thing", another writes, "[that] Paul’s doing to her because of his hatred for her father."

One of the leading fan theories is that Irulan has masked her appearance "as a deterrent against Scytale stealing her face." The latter is a shapeshifter who can adopt the appearance of anybody he sees, so it's possible that Florence Pugh's character will be getting a new subplot that explores her relationship with Scytale.

Either way, it's clear that Denis Villeneuve has some bold, fresh ideas for Dune: Part Three that will pull the sequel further away from the source material—for better or for worse.