Production on Dune: Part Three, previously referred to as Dune: Messiah after its source novel, is officially slated to begin in Budapest this week, according to multiple sources. But major outlets, both international and local, are reporting that filming is headed to Prague. Is there any truth to these rumors? To spare you the suspense: not likely.
“[Timothée] Chalamet popped by Saint-Tropez to see [Kylie] Jenner this week en route to Prague, where production begins this month for the third film in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune franchise,” GQ writes in a feature story about star Timothée Chalamet‘s haircut.
“Timothée starts filming Dune: Messiah in Prague this week,” says Cosmopolitan in another article about Chalamet’s hair. Hot topic this week.
“If everything went according to plan, filming on Dune: Messiah was scheduled to start yesterday in Budapest,” reports local TV channel Prima. “According to reports, it will move to Prague in a few days.”
Several other outlets have reported the Prague shoot for Dune: Messiah, and the information has been widely shared on Czech social media accounts.
However—contrary to these completely unattributed reports—no Dune project has been registered with the Czech Audiovisual Fund, and sources contacted by The Prague Reporter did not have any information about such a shoot.
What’s the source of these reports? Photos published by Page Six that appear to be the source of the hot Chalamet hair news do not mention a Prague shoot. However, another tabloid report in People, about Chalamet and Jenner, appears to have started the rumors through quotes attributed to an unnamed source.
“A source tells People that the pair only have a few days together before the A Complete Unknown star begins filming his next project, Dune: Messiah, in Prague,” writes the tabloid. “They only have a few days together before he starts filming in Prague. But they’re used to this kind of schedule.”
Verdict: there’s no Czech shoot, and the People source has confused Prague with Budapest.
Budapest remains confirmed production base
While Prague may not be hosting the Dune sequel shoot, production is indeed moving forward this week in Budapest, where star Zendaya has already been spotted on city streets. Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment have officially titled the third installment in the franchise Dune: Part Three, following the studio’s naming conventions rather than the title of Frank Herbert’s 1969 novel Dune Messiah, on which it is based.
Filming should take place primarily in Budapest, where director Denis Villeneuve previously shot large portions of both Dune: Part One and Dune: Part Two. According to Variety, the third film will feature sequences shot with IMAX cameras, though not the entire production—a partial use similar to that employed in Dune: Part Two.
Returning cast members include Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, Zendaya as Chani, and Jason Momoa, whose character Duncan Idaho is expected to return despite his absence from Dune: Part Two. Florence Pugh should also return as Princess Irulan in Dune: Part Three after debuting in the previous film. Robert Pattinson is also rumored to have been cast as villain Scytale.
Speaking to the future of the franchise, Villeneuve has made clear that he does not see Dune: Part Three as the conclusion of a trilogy. “If I do a third one, which is in the writing process, it’s not like a trilogy,” Villeneuve told Variety. “It’s to do something that feels different and has its own identity.”
Portions of Villeneuve’s earlier Dune movies were shot in locations other than Budapest—including Italy, Norway, and Jordan—and Czechia, certainly, has impressive locations that could double for other worlds, recently hosting shoots for sci-fi projects such as Foundation and Blade Runner 2099. But information about Dune: Part Three shooting in Prague is entirely unconfirmed and most likely incorrect at this stage.
However, a version of the story that features in Dune: Part Three was filmed in Prague more than two decades ago. The TV miniseries Children of Dune, which starred Susan Sarandon and a young James McAvoy and adapted both Dune: Messiah and Children of Dune, was largely filmed at Prague’s Barrandov Studio ahead of its release in 2003.
