Denis Villeneuve will only make Dune Messiah if it's better than Part Two

If only Denis Villeneuve could actually drink the Water of Life and prophesize a flawless, Oscar-winning script for Dune Messiah, the would-be third and final installment (based on Frank Herbert’s second Dune novel) in his groundbreaking trilogy. Unfortunately, we don’t live in the year 10,191, and in real life, it takes months and years of hard, honest work to birth a great screenplay. Until he has one, the director isn’t making any promises about returning to check in on Paul Atreides’ holy war.

“If we go back, it needs to be real, it needs to be relevant,” Villeneuve recently told Empire magazine. “If ever I do Dune Messiah, [it’s] because it’s going to be better than Part Two. Otherwise, I don’t do it.”

As disappointing as this non-assurance may be, eager fans can find some solace in the lessons of the story itself. When Paul was blinded by his followers’ unending worship, the results were… not pretty. And the masses are certainly worshiping Denis Villeneuve right now; Dune: Part Two is easily the most successful release of the year so far, already pulling in an impressive $500 million at the box office (via Box Office Mojo). The film has also been critically lauded, necessitated around-the-clock IMAX screenings, and even birthed a whole new way to enjoy a classic movie snack. But Villeneuve is sure of his decision.

“I did both movies (Part One and Part Two) back-to-back, which makes absolute sense for me,” he elaborated. “I felt that it was a good idea to move forward right after Part One. We were already designing, writing et cetera. But it also meant that for six years I was on Arrakis non-stop, and I think it will be healthy to step back a little bit. First, make sure that we have a strong screenplay. The thing I want to avoid is not having something ready. I never did it, and now I feel it could be dangerous because of the enthusiasm. We need to make sure all the ideas are on paper.”

But just because we might not see Paul or Chani for a couple of years doesn’t mean Villeneuve himself is totally out of reach. “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,” he said (via Variety). As for that “last time” bit, just trust us… it’s for the best. Later in Frank Herbert’s series of novels, the story “becomes more… esoteric,” in Villeneuve’s words. We’ll let you figure out just how horrifying that really is on your own.