Dune: Part Three Is Changing Its Timeline For One Crucial Reason

The final trailer for Dune: Part Three makes it clear that, of all of the Denis Villeneuve Dune movies, this one will alter the source material the most. Unlike in the 1969 novel Dune Messiah, Chani (Zendaya) is taking a clear stand against Paul (Timothée Chalamet) and aiding in the conspiracy to overthrow him. While Chani didn’t do this in the novel, this plot against Paul does come straight from the second book. However, the trailer makes it pretty clear there’s another big change at work here, one that might go unnoticed at first glance. Dune: Part Three hasn’t just changed aspects of the character’s actions and motivations from the Frank Herbert text; it’s also altered the timeline.

Instead of 12 years passing between the end of Dune and the start of Dune Messiah, the final Dune 3 trailer says that 19 years have passed. And this timeline change isn’t arbitrary; it’s clearly to account for one simple issue: Paul’s sister, Alia (Anya Taylor-Joy), needs to be fully grown up at this point in the story. So, how old is Alia in this movie? And how does that change the books?

Dune 3 timeline change, explained

In the 1969 version of Dune Messiah, Alia is only 15 years old for most of the book, and that’s because she was basically a toddler at the end of Dune. Now, the original book had three years pass between the moment when Paul becomes the leader of the Fremen and the ending of the novel. The relevant Dune chronology, in the books, shakes out like this:

• 10,191: The Atreides family arrives on Arrakis; Leto is murdered, Paul and Jessica flee to the desert. Alia is born.
• 10,193-10,196: Paul takes control of Arrakis; Alia kills Baron Harkonnen.
• 10,208-10,210: The events of Dune Messiah.
• 10,2019: The events of Children of Dune.

So, to be clear, though not really mentioned in the movies, these years are “AG,” meaning the numbering started after the formation of the Spacing Guild, or “after guild.” So, 10,191 isn’t meant to be 8,000 plus years from now, but even further into the future. That doesn’t matter too much for the movies, but what does matter is that the Villeneuve movies have changed the timeline to make it look like this:

• 10,191: Dune: Part One
• 10,191: Dune: Part Two
• 10,210: Dune: Part Three

Basically, in the Villeneuve story of Dune, there’s no time jump within the story of the first novel, which is why Alia is not born by the end of that movie, and Paul murders the Baron and not his baby sister.

Dune 3 timeline change fixes an Alia problem

So, although the timeline change might seem sort of radical (12 years versus 19), what it actually does is simply allow Alia to be more of an adult — probably about 19 or 20 years old — which fixes both creepy issues in the book, and also just a logistical problem created by the condensed timeline of the second film.

In the book, Alia’s romance with Hayt (the Duncan Idaho ghola/clone) is odd, since she’s so young. Now, that will, in theory, be less of an issue. But it also skirts the entire period of Alia being a super-baby with adult memories.

Finally, because Dune: Part Two ended “early,” in a sense, the extra years allow Part Three to take place at the “correct” time, more or less.

Paul and Chani’s children, already grown up?

Will there be even more timeline changes afoot beyond what the trailer tells us? Maybe. Fans have spotted one new photo that depicts Nakoa-Wolf Momoa and Ida Brooke as Paul and Chani’s young adult children: Leto II and Ghanima. This detail is also confirmed by the official caption of the photo from Warner Bros.: Leto II and Ghanima, who only appear as infants at the end of Dune Messiah, are grown characters in Dune 3. So, this isn’t a theory; it’s a fact: these characters will be in the film. But does that mean we’re getting a flash-forward? Or is there another timeline trick happening here?

If Leto II and Ghanima don’t exist in flash-forwards, but rather in the present of the film, this would mean that the timelines of Dune Messiah and Children of Dune have been blended. Maybe, in this new timeline, Chani already had the twins, probably around the time Alia was born, in 10,191.

If so, then 19 years works for everything: We’ve got an adult Alia, and also adult versions of the actual children of Dune, Leto II and Ghanima. Dune: Part Three is being presented as the end of the cinematic saga. But if there were a sequel beyond this movie, it seems that the heirs of House Atreides are waiting in the wings.

Dune: Part Three hits theaters on December 18.