Zendaya Gives Promising Take on Potential 'Dune 3'

There's still no guarantee that Dune: Part Three will get made, but if it does, fans can count on Zendaya to be there. The actress participated in an interview with Fandango last month to promote Dune: Part Two, and she was asked if she would be on board to complete the hypothetical trilogy. She was enthusiastic about the idea – and about working with Denis Villeneuve in general.

"Would I be down? I mean, of course," Zendaya said. "Anytime Denis calls it's a yes from me, at least. I'm excited to see what happens." The actress plays Chani in Villeneuve's adaptation of the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert. Villeneuve brought the "impossible to adapt" book to the screen partially by splitting the first novel into two movies. That meant Zendaya got very little screen time in Part One, but fans will finally get to know her character in Part Two when it premieres on March 1. According to Villeneuve, his third movie would be an adaptation of Herbert's second novel, Dune Messiah, where Chani gets even more time to shine.

Zendaya confirmed that she is familiar with the source material already. She said: "I started [reading Dune Messiah] and I was like, 'Whoa, I'm only shooting the first movie. Let me go back to the first one.' It's so much to take in, and I think there's no better hands with better care and love for it than him."

Villeneuve is a lifelong fan of Herbert's series, The Dune Chronicles. Herbert wrote six novels in the main series before he passed away, and he left behind notes for at least one more book. His son, Brian Herbert, has collaborated with author Kevin Anderson to write many more novels in the franchise since then. However, Villeneuve has indicated that he would like to adapt the first two books by Herbert but nothing more.

"If I succeed in making a trilogy, that would be the dream," he said in an interview with Empire last summer. "Dune Messiah was written in reaction to the fact that people perceived Paul Atreides as a hero. Which is not what he wanted to do. My adaptation is closer to his idea that it's actually a warning."

Dune Messiah begins about 12 years after Dune ended, and it finds Paul (Timothee Chalamet), Chani and all the other characters in a very different place than fans left them. It's no surprise that Villeneuve intends to take some time off between Dune: Part Two and his intended sequel – even if the studio wants to order it. He recently told Korean reporters: "I don't know exactly when I will go back to Arrakis. I might make a detour before just to go away from the sun. For my mental sanity, I might do something in between, but my dream would be to go a last time on this planet that I love."

Dune: Part Two is slated to hit theaters on Friday, March 1. Part One is streaming now on Max. So far, Part Three has not been officially greenlit and remains a dream for Villeneuve, Zendaya and fans.