Robert Pattinson is opening up about his experience filming Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming Dune: Part Three, and it sounds like the desert shoot pushed him to his limits.
The actor shared with IndieWire that the heat was so intense, it left him unable to even think straight.
“When I was doing Dune it was so hot in the desert that I just couldn’t question anything,” Pattinson said.
“And it was so relaxing, like my brain actually wasn’t operating. I did not have a single functioning brain cell. And I was just listening to Denis [Villeneuve]: ‘Whatever you want!’”
His role in the third installment is still being kept secret, though he joins newcomers Nakoa-Wolf Momoa and Ida Brooke, who play Paul and Chani’s twin children.
Returning stars include Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson and Anya Taylor-Joy. This final chapter is based on Frank Herbert’s novel Dune Messiah.
The cast’s stories suggest the extreme desert temperatures have become a defining part of making the Dunefilms.
Austin Butler, who played Feyd-Rautha in the second movie, once told Entertainment Weekly that his first week was brutal. The weather climbed to 110 degrees, and his bald cap and the surrounding sand and soundstage walls only made things worse.
Butler said the space felt like a “microwave,” and added that “there were people passing out from heat stroke.”
He explained that the challenging conditions actually brought everyone together. “It really bonds the entire crew,” he said, noting how humbling the environment was.
Zendaya also revealed to W Magazine that she experienced heatstroke while working on Dune: Part Two. Her costume was extremely heavy, and she had stopped drinking water while shooting in Jordan’s scorching conditions.
Villeneuve has previously shared that grueling temperatures were one reason he was glad the first two Dunefilms weren’t shot back-to-back.
The upcoming threequel, slated to release on Dec. 18, 2026, looks to be continuing that demanding legacy.
With Pattinson describing a heat so strong it switched off his thoughts, it seems fans can expect another intense and immersive trip back to Arrakis.