55-ton ship anchors new Dune film set for December release

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Three arrives in theaters on December 18, bringing a narrative shift that moves seventeen years forward from the previous entry. The film adapts Frank Herbert’s Dune Messiah and follows Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides as he faces the consequences of his imperial rule. Production designer Patrice Vermette, who received Variety’s Creative Impact Award at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, led the visual construction of this new chapter.

Vermette stated that his primary instruction from Villeneuve was to avoid reusing sets from earlier films. This mandate forced the team to design distinct environments within the same world. The result includes new constructions such as the Atreides Castle and the Imperial Nexus Laboratory on Arrakis, alongside a reimagined Giedi Prime. The latter drew inspiration from industrial septic tanks to establish the dark aesthetic of the Harkonnen homeworld.

The most expensive logistical feat was the opening battle sequence involving ships attacking a planet covered in black sand. The production built a single spaceship weighing 55 tons. This set piece required a complex setup to allow for a 360-degree view of both its interior and exterior. The team buried the structure underground and simulated rain for the entire duration of the shoot.

Managing the water volume required a dedicated pump system to remove large quantities of liquid. Spider rigs and touch spinners maneuvered the ship, which a crane lifted every two days during daylight hours. Vermette described the concept as a crazy idea, but noted that the effort produced a seamless visual result for the audience.

The collaboration between Vermette and Villeneuve dates back to the early 2000s. They worked on commercials before their schedules aligned for a feature film in 2013. A text message from Villeneuve led to their first project together, Enemy, which was the director’s first English-language movie. Their history on the original Dune film informs the current production, with Villeneuve having storyboarded the adaptation since age 15.

The production team faced constraints such as material shortages, which they turned into symbolic story elements. Cinematographer Greig Fraser worked closely with the crew to execute complex lighting setups that avoided artificial sunlight. Vermette emphasized that the success of the project relied on close communication between department heads to solve these logistical challenges.