Paul Atreides won. He defeated the emperor of the galaxy and assumed the throne himself. And yet, his victory at the end of Dune: Part Two didn’t feel particularly triumphant. Paul had to make many, many sacrifices to get to that point, including giving up the love of his life, Chani. And now, in Dune: Part Three, we’ll see how that plays out.
The first trailer for the highly anticipated conclusion to director Denis Villeneuve’s Dune trilogy is out now. And, to celebrate the release, the director and members of his cast held an event in Los Angeles to tease what’s to come. The most revealing part was when Villeneuve explained how Dune: Part Three, based on the second Dune book, Dune Messiah, will feel, look, and sound different from the previous two movies.
“I said to myself, it’s a good idea to come back to this world, not by nostalgia but by urgency. And to go there with a critical eye and the idea not to be self-indulgent,” Villeneuve said at the event. “I said to my team that it will be a very different film, a very different Dune movie, with a different tone, with a different rhythm, with a different pace. If the first movie was more of a contemplation, like a movie that [is] exploring a new world, and the second one being a war movie, this one is a thriller. It’s a more action-packed and more intense film, more muscular than the two others, I would say.”
He went on to explain what he meant by it being a thriller. “There’s a time gap, 17 years, where we see Paul dealing with the consequences of having too much power and him trying to figure out how to get out of this cycle of violence,” Villeneuve said. “And of course, he’s an emperor who can see the future, so he’s kind of invincible. And we follow people trying to overthrow him. And it’s a quite intense story. But at the heart, it’s still a love story. The heartbeat of the film is still the relationship between Paul and Chani. And I’m very excited. I can’t wait to share the movie with you guys.”
He really means that too because, according to Villeneuve, not only does he love Dune: Messiah even more than the original Dune book, but he also found something even deeper in it this time around.
“Dune Messiah is by far my favorite book of the series,” he said. “It’s a very dark book, a beautiful book. And this time, I will say this is one of my most personal films, if not my most personal film. So it’s a film that is very close to me and very contemporary.”

“It’s about the story of Paul and Chani, them struggling with their relationship, having the burden and incredible pressure from the world around them,” Villeneuve continued. “And there’s something about their love and their time and the way they are, the way their relationship evolved. That study on the relationship of both characters that is very personal to me.”
But not only is Dune: Part Three more exciting and emotional than the previous two films, it’s going to look different as well. You get a taste from the new trailer, but for Part Three, Villeneuve changed cinematographers from Greig Fraser (who did the first two) to Linus Sandgren, who did La La Land and No Time to Die.
“[Arrakis has] changed in those years,” Villeneuve said as to why he switched cinematographers. “The climate is different. It’s still the desert planet, but there are differences. We are visiting new sets, new places. I brought the camera to areas of the planet that you guys have not seen before. And we are visiting new planets as well. And I wanted to approach this with a new pair of eyes.”

One person who is coming back, though, is composer Hans Zimmer. His music from the previous two films very much defined what Dune is, so Villeneuve knew he had to come back with a slight twist. “Hans is working on the music already… But like the movie is different, the score would be different,” Villeneuve said. “And it’s something that Hans is very excited about and approaching with the same spirit as the two first films.”
New planets, new relationships, new eyes, and new music. It sure sounds like Dune: Part Three will be quite the departure from the first two films. December can’t come soon enough.
We’ll have more on Dune: Part Three soon. The film opens on December 18.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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![The Pope’s AI Warning Could Help Workers Seek Religious Exemptions From Using AI
Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical on AI could set off a wave of workers seeking religious exemptions from using the tech at work. One software engineer in North Carolina already secured one last month, Business Insider reports. Erin Maus, a Unitarian Universalist, first sought the accommodation in April at the large tech-entertainment company where she works, which she described as progressive. She argued that using AI did not align with her religious beliefs because of environmental and ethical concerns. Maus was granted the exemption in May, before the pope’s AI remarks. “I’m writing my code and reviewing my code by hand, which seems crazy to say,” Maus told Business Insider. “Just two years ago, how else would you do it?”
Maus is unlikely to be the only person seeking a similar accommodation as companies increasingly invest in AI and push, sometimes even mandate, employees to use the technology. In the U.S., the share of employees who say they use AI at least a few times a year at work has nearly doubled from 21% to 40% in 2025, according to Gallup.
Now, the pope’s remarks and official theological document could give some workers a stronger argument. “In the era of artificial intelligence, when human dignity is threatened by new forms of dehumanization, ours is the pressing duty to remain profoundly human,” the pope wrote in his 43,000-word encyclical titled Magnifica Humanitas, published last month. He wrote that AI is dehumanizing society by reducing “the mystery of the person into data and performance” and called on the tech industry to avoid “the idolatry of profit that sacrifices the weak.”
The pope continued that “a slower pace in adopting AI does not mean opposing progress; instead, it is an exercise of responsible care for the human family.” That call for a slower adoption of AI could be enough for some workers to argue they should not be required to use it on the job. “When he’s speaking, he’s speaking as the pontiff—as a religious figure—so he’s raising these human dignity issues as religious issues, theological issues,” Jonathan Segal, an employment attorney and Duane Morris partner, told HR Brew this month. “I think it is inevitable that some employees will rely on this to say…I can’t use AI because it conflicts with a religious belief that I have.” Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers are required to make reasonable accommodations for workers whose sincerely held religious beliefs conflict with a work requirement, unless the accommodation creates an undue hardship for the employer.
And it’s not a stretch to think some of these requests could at least get serious consideration. Just a few months ago, Rex Healthcare agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a lawsuit from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accusing the company of unlawfully denying a remote employee’s request to be exempted from its mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy over religious beliefs. “I think this opens a door—or it’s a little bit of a road map—for employees to raise concerns,” Segal told HR Brew. “What the courts have said—what the EEOC has most definitely said—is that, as the general proposition, we shouldn’t question the legitimacy [of] sincerely held religious beliefs.” #Popes #Warning #Workers #Seek #Religious #ExemptionsAI,Pope Leo XIV,work The Pope’s AI Warning Could Help Workers Seek Religious Exemptions From Using AI
Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical on AI could set off a wave of workers seeking religious exemptions from using the tech at work. One software engineer in North Carolina already secured one last month, Business Insider reports. Erin Maus, a Unitarian Universalist, first sought the accommodation in April at the large tech-entertainment company where she works, which she described as progressive. She argued that using AI did not align with her religious beliefs because of environmental and ethical concerns. Maus was granted the exemption in May, before the pope’s AI remarks. “I’m writing my code and reviewing my code by hand, which seems crazy to say,” Maus told Business Insider. “Just two years ago, how else would you do it?”
Maus is unlikely to be the only person seeking a similar accommodation as companies increasingly invest in AI and push, sometimes even mandate, employees to use the technology. In the U.S., the share of employees who say they use AI at least a few times a year at work has nearly doubled from 21% to 40% in 2025, according to Gallup.
Now, the pope’s remarks and official theological document could give some workers a stronger argument. “In the era of artificial intelligence, when human dignity is threatened by new forms of dehumanization, ours is the pressing duty to remain profoundly human,” the pope wrote in his 43,000-word encyclical titled Magnifica Humanitas, published last month. He wrote that AI is dehumanizing society by reducing “the mystery of the person into data and performance” and called on the tech industry to avoid “the idolatry of profit that sacrifices the weak.”
The pope continued that “a slower pace in adopting AI does not mean opposing progress; instead, it is an exercise of responsible care for the human family.” That call for a slower adoption of AI could be enough for some workers to argue they should not be required to use it on the job. “When he’s speaking, he’s speaking as the pontiff—as a religious figure—so he’s raising these human dignity issues as religious issues, theological issues,” Jonathan Segal, an employment attorney and Duane Morris partner, told HR Brew this month. “I think it is inevitable that some employees will rely on this to say…I can’t use AI because it conflicts with a religious belief that I have.” Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers are required to make reasonable accommodations for workers whose sincerely held religious beliefs conflict with a work requirement, unless the accommodation creates an undue hardship for the employer.
And it’s not a stretch to think some of these requests could at least get serious consideration. Just a few months ago, Rex Healthcare agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a lawsuit from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accusing the company of unlawfully denying a remote employee’s request to be exempted from its mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy over religious beliefs. “I think this opens a door—or it’s a little bit of a road map—for employees to raise concerns,” Segal told HR Brew. “What the courts have said—what the EEOC has most definitely said—is that, as the general proposition, we shouldn’t question the legitimacy [of] sincerely held religious beliefs.” #Popes #Warning #Workers #Seek #Religious #ExemptionsAI,Pope Leo XIV,work](https://gizmodo.com/app/uploads/2026/05/shutterstock_2666910201-1280x853.jpg)
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