Denis Villeneuve wants to make 'Dune 3' — here's what's in store for Timothée Chalamet

• Director Denis Villeneuve is interested in making "Dune 3."
• The sequel would follow Frank Herbert's book "Dune: Messiah."
• Here's what's in store for Timothée Chalamet if Villeneuve gets the green light.

Although Frank Herbert's "Dune" was seen as unfilmable by many studios, Denis Villeneuve managed to adapt the bulky source material with ease for the 2021 movie. It stars Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, whose family takes control of the desert planet Arrakis – which is mined for its natural resources that are essential for space travel.

"Dune: Part Two" has been delayed to March 2024 due to the ongoing writer and actor strikes in Hollywood, but Villeneuve has already made it clear that he wants to turn the franchise into a trilogy.

"If I succeed in making a trilogy, that would be the dream," Villeneuve told Empire magazine. "'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."

He added that he wouldn't direct any future "Dune" projects following a third movie. "After that, the books become more… Esoteric."

Here's what's in store for Chalamet if "Dune 3" gets greenlit.

Paul Atreides will be the Emperor of the universe in "Dune 3"

The first "Dune" movie adapts half of Frank Herbert's original book, ending with Paul and his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) taking refuge with the Fremen, the indigenous race who have adapted to live in the Arrakis desert. 

The second half of the book sees them become part of the Fremen, before retaking the planet thanks to Paul's supernatural abilities as a mystical figure, known as the Kwisatz Haderach. "Dune" ends with Paul defeating the Emperor of the universe, Shaddam, to become the ruler himself. 

But when "Dune Messiah" starts, the Fremen have transformed themselves into religious extremists, slaughtering 61 billion people across the galaxy in Paul's name. Not exactly a heroic outcome after a full-blown rebellion. That's not to say the Harkonnens were good guys either, but it's interesting that Paul's own journey of self-discovery led to an unthinkable massacre.

The book is largely about Paul reckoning with the consequences of his own actions, as well his frequent precognitive visions. He also has to deal with the plot to usurp him and his family from the throne. (That also includes his younger sister, Alia, since Jessica was pregnant when the Atreides family was overthrown by House Harkonnen.)

The Bene Gesserit, the Tleilaxu, and the Space Guild are the ones plotting Emperor Paul's demise. Yes, that sounds like a lot of science-fiction jargon, so let's break it down.

The Bene Gesserit are essentially space witches, and the Tleilaxu make clones while experimenting with genetics to create people who can store information, like computers. And the Space Guild are the ones who use Spice from Arrakis to expand the minds of its pilots so they can fly ships across the galaxy. Simple enough, right?

"Dune 3" would also introduce Paul and Chani's children

While Paul is married to Princess Irulan, who will be played by Florence Pugh in "Dune: Part Two," their marriage is purely for show. He's actually still in a relationship with Chani, (Zendaya) who is pregnant.

Since Paul constantly has prescient visions of the future, he foresees that Chani will give birth to a daughter, but to his surprise, she actually delivers twins. But then she dies in childbirth, because clearly Frank Herbert didn't want any of his characters to be happy. So prepare for a heartbreaking scene between Chalamet and Zendaya when Chani dies in "Dune 3."

Weirdly, the children are born with some of Paul's supernatural abilities – and are both completely conscious of who they are as soon as they're born.

Paul may exile himself to the desert at the end of "Dune 3"

A key part of the story sees Paul being blinded by an atomic weapon midway through "Dune Messiah," and he relies on his supernatural abilities to see. He's kind of like Marvel's Daredevil, if Daredevil could also see the future. 

Since Paul can still technically see, the Fremen don't immediately exile him to the desert, as is their tradition. But by the time his children are born and he manages to stop his enemies from taking the throne, he ends up losing his prescient powers, which renders him completely blind. 

Because of this, he's no longer seen as the Fremen's messiah – and he takes himself into the desert, leaving his sister Alia as the new Emperor. Of course, this could all change depending on how Villeneuve and Warner Bros. choose to adapt the book.

Whatever happens, here's hoping Villeneuve's adaptation would continue to make this complicated sci-fi digestible onscreen — because there's a lot going on.