‘Dune: Part Three’ Teases Its New Villain: A Bleached-Blonde Robert Pattinson

Warner Bros. unveiled an eerie and atmospheric new trailer for Dune: Part Three today, teasing the arrival of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and Chani’s (Zendaya) twin children and introducing audiences to Robert Pattinson’s perfectly creepy-looking new villain, Scytale.

Hardcore science fiction fans have been understandably hyped about Robert Pattinson joining the Dune universe. Pattinson’s a unique kind of a movie star — a heartthrob-turned-character actor who loves undermining his sex symbol status as much as possible — which means he’s honestly perfect to play the scheming Bene Tleilaxu Face Dancer in Dune: Part Three.

Dune: Part Three will adapt key arcs from Frank Herbert’s first two sequels to his original novel: Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. In these books, Paul Atreides reigns as both the Emperor of the universe and the “Messiah” of the Fremen. In his religious role, he has led the people of Arrakis in a bloody holy war against their enemies. The Dune: Part Three trailer shows Paul and his allies waging these incessant and violent campaigns throughout its runtime.

So what are Paul’s rivals to do? We see Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) lurking in the shadows, as Bene Gesserit do, and we witness Scytale leading a floating sarcophagus into a palatial room. In Dune Messiah, Scytale gifts Paul a ghola (or clone) of his deceased mentor Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa) named Hayt. The idea is that Hayt’s presence will unsettle Paul and that it will cause friction amongst the Fremen, who see Bene Tleilax technology as unclean. More importantly, though, Duncan Idaho’s ghola means Jason Momoa is back!

Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures

Of course, cloning isn’t the only neat trick the Bene Tleilax can pull off. Scytale is a Face Dancer. That means Scytale is a hermaphroditic shapeshifter who can change their appearance and gender at will. As much as we love seeing Robert Pattinson’s chiseled cheekbones on screen, we also can’t wait to see who the character might morph into during the film.

If you watched the first season of HBO’s Dune: Prophecy, you’ll remember that one of the many big twists in the show had to do with a Face Dancer. In Dune: Prophecy Episode 4, we learned that Theodosia (Jade Anouka), a promising student at the Sisterhood, had been shapeshifter hiding in plain sight the whole time. While Theodosia uses her powers to comfort and aid Reverend Mother Valya Harkonnen (Emily Watson) in the HBO show, you can expect Pattinson’s character to wreck Paul Atreides.

If Austin Butler‘s Feyd-Rautha was meant to represent a mirror image of who Paul could have been if he was raised by his Harkonnen relatives, then Scytale is designed to be the superpowered character’s natural foil. Scytale has his own mystical abilities that boggle the mind and his own knack for strategic leadership.

Most importantly, though, Scytale is freaking weird. Like, Denis Villeneuve has firmly jumped straight into the parts of Frank Herbert’s universe that get hella strange and incredibly twisted. If you thought “the voice” was wild, wait until you meet Scytale. It’s a perfect part for Pattinson, who loves to deliver unhinged performances.

Dune: Part Three will be in theaters on December 18, 2026. Here’s hoping Villeneuve keeps in the passionate romance between Anya Taylor-Joy’s freaky Alia Atreides and Jason Momoa’s Duncan Idaho clone.