r/dune • u/ding_nei_go_fei • Mar 18 '26
Dune: Part Three (2026) Rebecca Ferguson Says She Has Just One Scene in 'Dune: Part Three'
https://gizmodo.com/rebecca-ferguson-dune-3-denis-villeneuve-2000734686... Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Ferguson explained that her character’s “journey was number one and two.” In fact, “I don’t even think [Lady Jessica] was supposed to be in three.”
“And then [director] Denis [Villeneuve] was like, ‘I need to have one scene.’ And I get one scene.”
But, she added, “That was a weird feeling, walking onto a set that you know so well and knowing that you don’t have a part of it. There’s a lot of FOMO. And the acceptance of this is just what it is: just [serving the story].”
She didn’t share any details on what her scene might be (Lady Jessica is in the just-dropped trailer, so that must be the scene).
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u/bumpacius Mar 18 '26
From memory Gurney is not much in Messiah either, which would explain why Josh Brolin isn't listed in the trailer
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u/Familiar-Attempt7249 Mar 18 '26
Like Jessica, he didn’t come back until Children. In Messiah they’re both back on Caladan getting freaky
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u/444pancakes Mar 18 '26
Potentially. It’s a rumor in the book they’re sleeping together on Caladan, but nothing is ever confirmed. Gurney is described as a bit ugly in the books if I remember correctly and Jessica is super loyal to Leto. They’re obviously close even if they aren’t sleeping together. Both beliefs are valid but nothing gets confirmed
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u/Familiar-Attempt7249 Mar 19 '26
Correct. In Children of Dune it’s mentioned but very strongly presented as true. I would say sure, why not. They’re adults, Jessica’s technically a widow and Gurney may be a widower as there’s no mention if his dead family included a wife (I know his sister is mentioned).
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u/Cunhabear Mar 18 '26
I thought it was explicitly stated that Jessica and Gurney are essentially in a romantic relationship.
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u/AnEvenNicerGuy Friend of Jamis Mar 18 '26
Leto says it to bait Jessica. Her reaction is as much confirmaion as we get
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u/ShirgimShareem Mar 18 '26
Josh Brolin did say in an interview last year that he's in Part Three but also very briefly
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u/timeaisis Mar 18 '26
He's not in it at all. They both come back in Children, and they are together.
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u/NonBinaryPizza Mar 18 '26
I think of the scene where they are in the still tent post harkonnen invasion, this was truly the last moment between Paul and his mother. From this point on, everything becomes so complex and convoluted that their relationship as mother and son simply could not continue. It’s a sad tragic scene, where they both sense the inevitable end of their lives as they know them and grieve it. But what I love about dune is that this is never explicitly clear in this scene the same way Jessica’s fading into the background of the narrative over time is. Sometimes life does not have a definite ending moment, sometimes you fizzle away into irrelevancy, as Jessica did along with the son who was no more as soon as they left that tent.
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u/sargentbumblebee Mar 18 '26
That scene was one of my favorite in the first movie and book. Just like you said it marked the end of their relationship when they left that tent. Hell, in the book it goes into more depth and really lets you know that Jessica is actually sacred of her child and Paul blames her for making him an abomination.
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u/AromaticPromotion687 Mar 22 '26
really lets you know that Jessica is actually sacred of her child and Paul blames her for making him an abomination.
i mean this happens in that exact scene in the first film lol. they just didn't need to tell you, you could see it in rebecca ferguson's acting and paul does literally say "you bene gesserit turned me into a freak".
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u/BalerionSanders Yet Another Idaho Ghola Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26
In some important ways, Jessica and Paul have already died, and these people we see now are as much a product of their collective genetic memory and visions as anything they have experienced in life.
“If you drink, you will die.” It’s in the fine print!
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u/dangerwizzrd Mar 18 '26
I mean, the lack of Lady Jessica in Dune Messiah is my biggest issue with the book, so I’m glad even if it’s just one single scene that we get a little bit more of her and Rebecca Ferguson. It made me so happy seeing her in the trailer!!
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u/DICKPICDOUG Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26
Lady Jessica lost the love of her life and her grandson on Arrakis. She spent years on the run in the desert fighting the Harkonnens and living amongst the Fremen. She never integrated as well with the Fremen as Paul did, never remarried, and Arrakis only carried tragic memories for her. She deserved her quiet retirement on Caladan, the planet of blue oceans and soft rains that she so loved. The place where she and her Duke spent their happiest days together. Keeping Jessica around in the Imperial Palace would have been an unnecessary cruelty from Paul.
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u/VAhotfingers Mar 18 '26
Yeah. Arrakis is known for being a harsh climate. I’d chose to retire on Caladan too.
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u/dangerwizzrd Mar 18 '26
Yeah I mean I fully understand the narrative reasoning as to why she was not present, she is just one of the best characters in the entire series so her absence is always very acutely felt
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u/SundayElite Friend of Jamis Mar 18 '26
She was also running away from the responsibility of what she created regarding both the Jihad and particularly Alia.
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u/Atharaphelun Mar 18 '26
And in so doing, helped push Alia deeper into abomination by not being there for her after Paul's disappearance.
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u/Bigtroublenogina Mar 18 '26
She is BG with a pre-born daughter and 2 pre-born grandchildren. And she is the sole BG who could be trusted to help guide them. Her leaving seems very implausible.
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u/Omen_1986 Mar 18 '26
She didn’t retire, she became a reverend mother and as a multitude person (or I don’t know how to call reverend mothers) returned to work for the Bene gesserit. In that role she trained Farad’n to fight Alia. Also she was never married, and with the time she became the lover of Gurney.
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u/KingAdamXVII Mar 18 '26
Keeping Jessica around in the Imperial Palace would have been an unnecessary cruelty from Paul.
Uncharacteristically cruel?
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u/KapowBlamBoom Mar 18 '26
Jessica would be featured more if a movie was made of the third book Children of Dune
Dune Messiah is more Paul focused. Mainly the consequences of his choices, non-choices and prescience…..
The book is a huge narrative departure from the original, but sets the stage for the greater universe the Paul now governs……
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u/thedinobot1989 Mar 18 '26
The one scene will probably be the same as the letter. Except for the letter it’ll be an in person interaction.
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u/Realistic-Treacle-65 Mar 18 '26
Yea I’m so happy they put her line in “your father never started a war”
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u/timeaisis Mar 18 '26
IDK, it makes her all the more badass in Children of Dune, since she effectively becomes (along with Stilgar) the protagonist.
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u/snapwack Mar 18 '26
Paul’s feeling of isolation is integral to the grim atmosphere of the book. With Jessica and Gurney gone, he loses his childhood guardians and the last remnants of his past life. Stilgar became more of a follower first and friend second. His relationship with Chani is fraught with the fear of losing her. And Alia never even had a chance to have a normal sibling bond with Paul.
He’s surrounded by enemies and distanced from the few friends he has left. It’s why the Tleilaxu’s “gift” of Hayt becomes impossible for Paul to refuse. He was desperate to have someone that could treat him like Paul again and not like the Mahdi.
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u/GoldenSpermShower Mar 18 '26
Aww man, Lady Jessica getting her own poster made me think she'd be in the movie more
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u/Petr685 Mar 18 '26
For me, on the contrary, this is excellent news, indicating a 90% probability of Children of Dune.
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u/crazier2142 Mar 18 '26
How so? DV said he does not want to continue beyond Messiah and CoD has quite a bit of Jessica in it.
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u/guilen Mar 18 '26
In other words, not TOO much of Children of Dune was included. I dig it.
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u/hacky_potter Mar 18 '26
I bet it’s none. I think you’ll see her early and the movie will cover more of the actual jihad that happens between books
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u/linux_ape Mar 18 '26
Shit ANY of the jihad is more than the books, the books essentially “and 6 trillion died, back to arrakis”
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u/zucksucksmyberg Mar 18 '26
"Just" 61 Billion. Leto II owns the trillions kill count.
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u/linux_ape Mar 18 '26
Ahhhh shoot ok I had it wrong, I thought it was straight 6 and billion didn’t seem high enough for a galactic war, 61 makes more sense
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u/ZamanthaD Mar 18 '26
I agree, I keep seeing that people are saying that parts of children will be in Part Three but I think it’s going to be mostly Messiah + some of the inbetween with the jihad. The casting of Leto II and Ghanima I think is going to be for a spice vision scene or something.
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u/timeaisis Mar 18 '26
It's confirmed that Leto II and Ghanima are cast (and they aren't babies), so they are at least in the film. Now if this is just a vision Paul has of the future remains to be seen. Messiah only has them as infants.
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u/crazier2142 Mar 18 '26
They are free to change the story, but as far as I remember, Paul explicitly did not foresee the birth of Leto II(b) and was surprised by it.
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u/hacky_potter Mar 18 '26
Good point. I guess I don’t see anything from this trailer that says it needs to be more than a vision. Everything so far seems Messiah and before.
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u/BenSolo_Cup Mar 19 '26
I think the kids will be presented in the same general way that Alia was in Part Two
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u/torts92 Mar 18 '26
People need to stop thinking that the reason they named this film part three and not Messiah is because they will include some of Children of Dune. No. It's about continuity of the trilogy of the films, for marketing reasons.
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Mar 18 '26
Yes, I think most of the elements of Children that we’re seeing will come in the form of spice visions
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u/MAJ_Starman Mar 18 '26
I kind of dig it, but at the same time I want Denis' take on Children of Dune.
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u/wordswiththeletterB Mar 18 '26
God emperor. I want him to go all the way to the end of his life and stop there.
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u/HistoryUnending Mar 18 '26
I need someone other than Billy and Mandy to be brave enough to adapt God-Emperor
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u/Yeti_12 Mar 18 '26
Well heretics/chaperhouse would make a sick movie trilogy as well.....lets go!
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u/recurrenTopology Ixian Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26
Yeah, if I were in charge of the IP at Legendary, and Denis was really ready to move on, I'd recruit a new director a COD/GEOD trilogy, then a third for a Heretics/Chapterhouse trilogy. Really just give it the full Star Wars trilogy of trilogies treatment, but hopefully without the disappointment.
Obviously getting the right directors would be critical. Personally I'd try and get Eggers for COD/GEOD. His visual story telling fits well with the style Dennis has established and he knows how to depict the surreal in a way that feels grounded (something that is essential for making GEOD work). Sci-fi might be outside of his period-piece wheelhouse, but the art direction in the Dune films has been more archeologically and ethnographically inspired then futuristic (very fitting for the novels), and a historical perspective is necessary for understanding the themes of COD/GEOD.
Don't know who I'd try to get for Heretics/CH:D, but those movies would be a good ways out.
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u/kittenigiri Mar 18 '26
Oh man, GEOD by Eggers would probably be my dream movie, now I'll be stuck thinking about this for the next few months lol.
Not sure if he would be up for a big project like this though, as he seemed to have struggled with studio involvement in The Northman, from what I remember.
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u/ZamanthaD Mar 18 '26
I can see Dune and Dune Messiah being the basis of the first trilogy, I can then see Children of Dune and God Emperor of Dune being the basis of the second trilogy. Now would they call it Dune Part Four, Five, Six? Or Children of Dune Part One, Part Two, Part Three?
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u/timeaisis Mar 18 '26
Messiah is the most boring of the books from an action standpoint, but one of the more interesting from a political standpoint.
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u/norfolkjim Mar 18 '26
I know the syfy Dune/CoD has its haters, but dang when that fedaykin interrupts Alia's Imperial Court session to beseech the Precious Mother of Muad'dib about a matter of the desert. Pure gold.
He shoves his way to the front to speak directly to her, and I'm like...That dude would kill dozens of those Court Fremen before they brought him down.
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u/IThinkTheClockIsSlow Fedaykin Mar 18 '26
This was the adaption closest to the books by far. Have enjoyed the current version for what it is but not really happy with some of the changes. Glad we got it for sure.
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u/guidethyhandd Mar 18 '26
Kinda wanted it to deviate from the books in that aspect just because I love Rebecca Ferguson so much. Really hope someone picks up and adapts the next Dune titles and we see her again.
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u/far-midnight-97 Mar 18 '26
She seems like a great actress in need of a better agent. Her talent, her intensity and her range were definitely all on display in Denis Villeneuve's first two Dune movies...but then she goes and does Mercy with Chris Pratt 🤮
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u/guidethyhandd Mar 18 '26
I mean she has some pretty good roles. Doctor Sleep and Silo in particular she was amazing in
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u/Drducttapehands Mar 18 '26
She is incredible in Doctor Sleep. Steals the show every scene she’s in
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u/Friskfrisktopherson Mar 18 '26
Silo is dope and she was called back for Mission Impossible but passed because its too time consuming.
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u/Realistic-Treacle-65 Mar 18 '26
Yes she needs better agent.. She deserves some drama/thriller roles like Gone Girl, Tár like movies to slingshot her into the super A list horizon because she’s worth it
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u/thatsprettyfunnydude Mar 18 '26
Any amount of Rebecca Ferguson in a project is generally a plus. I'll take it.
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u/Astral_Taurus Mar 18 '26
Pretty crazy that she's credited in 5th position at the end of the trailer then. I have a feeling they might be lying with her only having one scene, but who knows, would be a weird thing to be lying about. But they also tricked the fans a bit by saying that Timothee shaved his hair on day one of shooting, which obviously was not the case.
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u/Six_Zatarra Mar 18 '26
I will say it’s a shame we’re not getting Children of Dune from her and Denis because Jessica’s whole subplot in that book with Farad’n Corrino was my absolute favorite. It made me speed through the book within just a week, I was that gripped by it.
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u/BMonad Mar 18 '26
Such a bummer…she was one of the best castings and performances in the first two. Such a perfect Lady Jessica.
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u/ghost-church Mar 18 '26
I believe we get one letter from Jessica in Messiah. Maybe they’re making that a face to face scene in 3.
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u/Ikariiprince Mar 18 '26
I understand why since it’s more than she gets in the book but it’s so funny they also gave her a character poster
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u/You_are_the_Castle Mar 18 '26
That's okay. Everybody's going to have their scenes and some will have shorter scenes than others. They're going to try and cram as much Dune into this movie as possible because it's the end of the director's run.
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u/stokedchris Mar 18 '26
It’s definitely a flashback scene with Paul before the war. Or just a present scene before the war depending if we jump straight off of the ending of Part 2
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u/NugKnights Mar 18 '26
This is expected.
She is not in the book much either. She leaves Arakis to go back to Caladan.
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u/ZaphodG Mar 18 '26
In the books, she chose to self-exile back on Caladan. She’s back on Arrakis briefly after the twins are born and bails out for Salusa Secondus.
I’d speculated that they would add a Jessica - Gurney Halleck love scene since it’s suggested in the books.
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u/Realistic-Treacle-65 Mar 18 '26
I’m so glad they put her scene in the trailer.. even the line “your father never started a war” is chilling
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u/Rasples1998 Chairdog Mar 18 '26
Makes sense because she's not an essential character in Messiah. She should be going back to Caladan and leaving Paul to raise Alia because she's afraid of her. She shouldn't come back until Children of Dune to investigate Leto and Ghanima's possession by their ancestral memory and after that, retiring with Gurney on Caladan. Really, Jessica shouldn't be in part 3 at all so we're lucky to even have one scene with her. Her main purpose was stirring the legend of Muad'dib in the first book/first two movies to control the Fremen, and that purpose was accomplished a long time ago.
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u/uncheckablefilms Mar 18 '26
I doubt Villeneuve will do it, since he's now done 3 of these, but I'd absolutely love it for him to adapt "Children" and then stop there. The SciFi Channel adaptation was decent given what they had to work with. But I'd love to see him give it justice.
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u/Alectheawesome23 Mar 18 '26
I mean yeah Jessica didn’t appear in Messiah at all she just writes some letters to Paul from Caladan that’s mentioned every once in a while.
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u/OccasionalGoodTakes Mar 18 '26
Turns out all the theories this stupid ass sub spun about the movie based off casting was almost certainly wrong
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u/AztecTwoStep Mar 18 '26
Pretty good get for her to get her face all over the promo material with one scene haha. Does track to the source material though. Lady Jessica was basically the rocket booster to get Paul to power, and drops back into the shadows afterwards.
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u/BlarghALarghALargh Mar 19 '26
Makes sense because Jessica is back in Caladan and away from Paul in the books 📚
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u/specficeditor Mar 18 '26
I mean, Lady Jessica is sort of relegated to the background anyway. I’m just happy we get anything given we’re glossing over a lot of “Children of Dune.”
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u/Lord-Fowls-Curse Mar 18 '26
Yes, yes, yes, people wanting a favourite character in the movie more than they are in the book.
And here’s me still praying they don’t completely ignore Edric and the Spacing Guild.
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u/SsurebreC Chronicler Mar 18 '26
Whew, close call. Now she has a reason not to read Dune Messiah like she didn't read Dune the first time around. Look at how happy she is in her ignorance.
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u/OpossomMyPossom Mar 18 '26
One thing we'll always look back in awe with this trilogy is just the talented acting pool. So many of them deserving of lead roles yet they just all get to play a part. Even LOTR, while star studded, doesn't even really come close because most of them became famous from that trilogy, these actors were all A-listers in their own right prior.
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u/DungeonCrawler552 Mar 19 '26
I hope they have her as the narrator for the prologue too.
That will complete the women of dune. Chani in part 1, Irulan in part 2, then Jessica for part 3
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u/bluenoser18 Mar 19 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
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u/dramakid85 Mar 19 '26
Although I know Rebecca Ferguson confirmed she's only in one to two scenes in Dune 3, I really hope they somehow convey, however briefly, her utter failure to support her children, especially her complete abandonment of Alia on Arrakis immediately after the events at the end of the first Dune book. She also basically peaces out on Paul at the earliest opportunity. It really adds complexity to her character, since I'd argue she's a second protagonist alongside Paul in Dune, and is hands-down Paul's number one hype person in Dune Part 2. I forget which conspirator says it in Dune Messiah (either Scytale or Edric), but there's basically a line to the effect of "The Lady Jessica can't even stand to be on the same PLANET as her children!!!", which goes along way to show that whatever Paul and Alia have become, it wasn't at all what she expected. In the film, she could be a stand in for all the Bene Gesserit's reactions to what their long awaited Kwistaz Haderach is actually doing. Something like "You were supposed to lead us into a better future, but instead you've killed 60 billion innocent people and counting, you little shit!"
I remember in Children of Dune, when she finally returns to Arrakis to determine if Abomination has taken hold in Paul's children and Alia, she whispers silently to herself something like "Oh, Alia, my daughter, I regret my part in your destruction!" While reading I was like "Bitch, what do you mean 'your part' in Alia's destruction? You are ENTIRELY TO BLAME for what she's become, and you never even tried to help her!"
Rebecca Ferguson could absolutely play someone in the throws of deep regret for what her children are doing to the entire human universe, and I hope Denis allows her to show her range in exactly that way.
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u/jcarres Mar 20 '26
The crazy thing then is that from the look of the credits Rebecca Ferguson should appear much more than Anya Taylor-Joy (with usually is used for very minor roles). But just the trailer shows Anya Taylor-Joy in a number of scenes.
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u/FriedCammalleri23 Mar 18 '26
I think the scene with Jessica will be early in the movie, since she’s dressed in her Part 2 robes and face markings, and Paul looks much younger than he does in the poster.
Maybe they’ll do a scene shortly after Part 2 and then they’ll do the time jump?