NEW YORK: "Dune 3" is yet to be officially greenlit by Warner Bros and should the studio go ahead with the film, director Denis Villeneuve says it would be his last movie in the franchise based on Frank Herbert's books.
The filmmaker's comments come ahead of the release of "Dune 2" in March.
Herbert wrote four more "Dune" novels, but Villeneuve said he would like to take up other stories after a third film -- titled "Dune Messiah" -- in the series.
"'Dune Messiah' should be the last 'Dune' movie for me," he told Time magazine in an interview.
Last August, Villeneuve said it would be "a dream" come true if he succeeds in making a "Dune" trilogy.
While adapting Herbert's books, the director said he wanted to stay as true as possible to the author's vision.
"I was trying to be, as a filmmaker, as invisible as possible. I tried my best to keep the poetry of the book, the atmosphere, the colours, the smell, everything that I felt when I read the book. I tried," said Villeneuve, known for "Sicario", "Arrival" and "Blade Runner 2049".
Going forward, the filmmaker wants to make an adaptation of Stacy Schiff's "Cleopatra" and a version of Arthur C Clarke's futuristic classic "Rendezvous With Rama".