Timothée Chalamet Teases His Curveball Performance in DUNE 3; Says it's a “Big Swing” and “Eeriest” Film in the Trilogy
We still haven’t seen a single frame from Dune: Part Three, but if Timothée Chalamet has anything to say about it, this final chapter is going to hit on a whole different level.
The actor recently opened up about stepping back into the role of Paul Atreides one last time, and it sounds like he approached this movie with a fire that fans are going to feel when it finally lands in theaters.
During a Variety town hall in Austin, TX, Chalamet made it clear this isn’t just another sequel for him. It’s the closing act of a major chapter in his career.
He explained that this would be “my last time doing a Dune film. I wanted to really treat it as sacred. People can get complacent, but I was more intense on the third one.”
Chalamet pointed to Oscar Isaac, who played Duke Leto in Dune: Part One, as a key influence. Isaac approached the material in a way that felt elevated and theatrical, something Chalamet took to heart.
He recalled how Isaac treated the story as “very Shakespearean,” and said that inspired him to “take more liberty than ever.”
When he first entered the sands of Arrakis, Chalamet was coming from a very different headspace. He shared, “I was coming off of Beautiful Boy and Call Me by Your Name, movies that were a lot more naturalistic.
“So I felt kind of thrown by [Dune’s] futurism. But especially on this third one, all the great shit you see on screen is from freedom of movement and freedom of choice.”
That freedom seems to have unlocked something new in his performance. For this third installment, he looked toward some heavy hitters for inspiration, including Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight and Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now.
“What I think you see at the end of the second one, and across the third one, is yourself in ‘Interstellar’ and Heath Ledger in ‘The Dark Knight’ and Marlon Brando in ‘Apocalypse Now’ and stuff like that,” he said.
“Actually, wait, let me rephrase all of that! Hold up. I cannot put myself in that same boat,” he said, laughing. “Let’s just say, it’s these big movies where you could sneak in something. A curveball.”
Those performances stood out to him because those films gave the actors space to experiment and surprise the audience. Chalamet noted that they were two movies that let their actors “sneak in something,” and it’s clear he’s aiming to channel that same unpredictable energy into Paul’s evolution.
This marks his third collaboration with director Denis Villeneuve, and by now the two have a creative groove dialed in. Chalamet described their partnership as having a “really good rhythm,” which gave them the confidence to push further this time. According to him, Part Three is a “big swing” and “the eeriest one” in the trilogy.
That’s a pretty wild tease considering how intense and atmospheric the first two films already were. If this one really leans into the strange, mystical, and psychological edges of Frank Herbert’s world, we could be in for something special.
We’ll find out exactly what Chalamet means when Dune: Part Three hits theaters on December 18.