Warner Bros. dropped the first trailer for Dune: Part Three this week, giving us our first look at the final film in Denis Villeneuve's blockbuster trilogy. Primarily adapting Dune Messiah, the second novel in Frank Herbert’s Dune series, Dune: Part Three is set roughly 12 years after the events of Dune: Part Two and follows Paul Atreides as he grapples with the fallout of his holy war, which has claimed billions of lives across the known universe.
It's hard to watch the trailer and not get hyped for the climactic experience Dune: Part Three will bring to cinemas, especially when glossing over the incredible talent on board. The cast includes some of Hollywood's biggest stars, including Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, Isaach De Bankolé, Charlotte Rampling, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Robert Pattinson, Javier Bardem, Nakoa-Wolf Momoa and Ida Brooke. A healthy mix of returning faces and newcomers, one name on this list is particularly interesting: Rebecca Ferguson, who plays Lady Jessica, the mother of Paul Atreides.
Ferguson played a major role in the first two Dune movies, but anyone familiar with Herbert's novels might be a bit surprised to see her included in the Dune: Part Three. Having returned to Atreides home planet of Caladan, Lady Jessica is only briefly mentioned in Herbert's Dune: Messiah, not returning in significant fashion until Children of Dune. So seeing her pop up briefly in the trailer for Dune: Part Three was a bit surprising, and exciting. Just don't expect to see too much of Ferguson's character in the upcoming film.
Back in October, Ferguson hinted that she will appear in Dune: Part Three in limited fashion. And now we've learned just how small her role will be, and apparently it will only be for one scene.
Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Ferguson talked about her brief time on set for Dune: Part Three and the FOMO (fear of missing out) she experience by having such a small part in the third movie.
"The script is great. I've read it. I think it's going it's going to be fantastic, but my journey was number One and Two. I don't even think she was supposed to be in Three, but [director] Denis [Villeneuve] was like, 'I need to have one scene. And I get one scene,' but, that was a weird feeling, walking on to a set that you know so well and knowing that you don't have a part of it. It's sort of, there's a lot of FOMO, and the acceptance of this is just what it is."
Ferguson didn't elaborate one what her one scene will be, but I'm pretty sure we got a glimpse of it in the trailer when Paul asks her, "How did Father do it?"
"Your father never started a war," she replies.
It's unfortunate that a star as talented as Rebecca Ferguson has such limited screen time in Dune: Part Three, but it's also a testament to what she brings to the film that Denis Villeneuve had to add an additional scene for her.
Dune: Part Three will release in theaters on December 18, 2026.