Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Three is shaping up to be one of the biggest films of the year, bringing the acclaimed sci-fi saga to a close with the long-awaited adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune Messiah. With some of the biggest names in Hollywood all returning, anticipation for the December blockbuster has continued to build following its first trailers.
But that doesn’t mean everyone has a meaty part this time around, and one of the trilogy’s biggest stars has just devastated us all by confirming that that her return is considerably smaller than many fans may have been expecting, despite being one of the franchise’s most important figures.
Speaking to ExtraTV during San Diego Comic-Con, Rebecca Ferguson revealed that Lady Jessica’s appearance in Dune: Part Three is limited to a single sequence.
“Mate, I’ve got one scene, and I think you’ve seen it. It’s literally in the trailer, but I can’t wait to see it. The script’s amazing.”
This does sort of confirm what Ferguson had hinted at earlier this year when she said that she’d only “dipped [her] toe in” the production. She also admitted she originally believed Lady Jessica wouldn’t appear at all before Villeneuve ultimately decided to include the character.
The lone scene is widely believed to be the exchange featured in the film’s first teaser, where Paul Atreides asks his mother, “How did father do it?” before Jessica replies, “Your father never started a war.”
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Why Lady Jessica’s Role Is So Much Smaller
The update is unlikely to surprise readers of Frank Herbert’s Dune Messiah, which significantly reduces Lady Jessica’s role while shifting its focus toward the consequences of Paul’s reign and the galaxy-spanning religious war carried out in his name.
Earlier this year, Ferguson admitted returning to the production for such a brief appearance felt unusual after being one of the trilogy’s leading characters.
“That was a weird feeling. Walking onto a set that you know so well, and knowing that you don’t have a part of it.”
She also acknowledged experiencing “a lot of FOMO,” before adding that she ultimately accepted she simply had to “serve the story.” Despite her limited screen time, Ferguson has repeatedly praised Villeneuve’s screenplay, describing it as “amazing.”
Alongside Timothée Chalamet (Wonka) as Paul Atreides, the film stars Zendaya (Challengers) as Chani, Florence Pugh (Thunderbolts *) as Princess Irulan, Anya Taylor-Joy (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga) as Alia Atreides, Jason Momoa (Aquaman) as Duncan Idaho, Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men) as Stilgar, and Josh Brolin (Avengers: Endgame) as Gurney Halleck.
Dune: Part Three arrives in cinemas on 18 December 2026.
