Robert Pattinson has finally broken his silence on his upcoming villain role for Dune: Part Three and what we can expect from his character.
In an interview with IndieWire during the press tour for his new movie with Jennifer Lawrence titled Die My Love, Pattinson spoke about Dune 3 and the experience of filming with director Denis Villeneuve. The actor stated that:
“When I was doing Dune, it was so hot in the desert that I just couldn’t question anything. And it was so relaxing, like my brain actually wasn’t operating; I did not have a single functioning brain cell. And I was just listening to Denis [Villeneuve]: ‘Whatever you want!'”
Dune 3 is set to release on December 18, 2026, and follows the success of Villeneuve’s adaptation of the Dune book series written by Frank Herbert. The first film was released in 2021 and grossed over $400 million globally at the box office and also received six Academy Awards. Dune: Part Two surpassed Part One and achieved $715 million at the global box office.
Pattinson’s role is Scytale, and in the original novel, he is a shapeshifting Tleilaxu Face Dancer and the main antagonist in the book Dune Messiah. Scytale is described as a master of deception as he plots against Emperor Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) while assuming various identities. The villain attempts to blind Paul with a nuclear weapon in a fiendish plot to dethrone Paul.
Dune: Part Three will be the final installment in the trilogy and is adapting Herbert’s 1969 novel Dune Messiah. This isn’t the first time Pattinson has played villains and previously played Reverend Preston Teagardin in The Devil All the Time and The Dauphin in The King alongside Chalamet. Pattinson has stated his experience with Dune has inspired him to take what he’s learned “into other roles.”
Usually, Pattinson is seen as the hero in most stories, especially for his upcoming role in Matt Reeves’ The Batman: Part II, which has been delayed to release on October 1, 2027. Pattinson is also set to appear in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey next year, as well as The Drama alongside Zendaya.
- Release Date
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December 18, 2026
- Producers
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Mary Parent