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Dune: Part Two may have only won two Oscars, but it did repeat a very specific feat matched by The Lord of the Rings in 2003, which has fans excited about the future of the franchise at the Academy Awards.
The second instalment of Denis Villeneuve’s acclaimed sci-fi epic was nominated for five awards at Sunday’s ceremony (2 March) including Best Picture. However, it walked away with only two gongs for Best Sound and Best Achievement in Visual Effects.
In an odd case of history repeating itself, these are the exact same two awards that The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers won in 2003, having also been nominated for five Oscars.
This similarity now has fans excited about the prospect of Dune 3, reportedly set to begin production this summer, winning Best Picture just like Return of the King did in 2004. The third Lord of the Rings film won a record 11 Oscars that night, an honour it co-holds with Titanic and Ben-Hur.
The theory about Dune 3‘s potential future triumph has been put forward by The Big Picture podcast host, Sean Fennessey, who wrote on X/Twitter on Sunday (2 March) that the identical wins were “something to keep in mind”.
Dune fans have since been enthused by this factoid. One person tweeted: “Trust the process. We will be there for the 2027 Messiah sweep.”
A second fan said: “If Dune: Messiah doesn’t pull a Return of the King, the Academy has failed us all.”
A third noted: “If Villeneuve manages to turn Dune Messiah into a crowdpleasing blockbuster, he deserves more than an Oscar. Perhaps a Nobel prize.”
One thing that could prevent Dune 3‘s victory, however, is the fact that the film will be an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s second book, Dune Messiah, which proved quite divisive among fans of the series.
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The second novel is set 12 years after the events of the first book, with Paul Atreides still serving as Emperor of the Known Universe having unleashed the Fremen’s deadly jihad on the galaxy, leaving billions dead.
Atreides, though, begins to realise that despite his position he has become powerless to stop the excessive religious violence that he has authorised.
The novel also sees a bigger role for Paul’s sister, Alia, who was briefly played by Anya Taylor-Joy in the previous film. It also curiously welcomes the return of the previously dead Duncan Idaho, who was played by Jason Momoa in the first film.
The book was previously loosely adapted in the miniseries, Children of Dune, produced by the SyFy channel in 2003.
Dune 3 is expected to be released in cinemas in December 2026 for contention in the 2027 Academy Awards.
