The unveiling of the new Dune: Part Three trailer offered fans their clearest look yet at the final chapter in Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi trilogy.
It also placed Abu Dhabi back at the centre of Arrakis.
Behind-the-scenes images released during a special fan event showed Villeneuve and the cast and crew filming once again in the Liwa Desert, which has helped shape the visual identity of all three films.
Trust and confidence in Abu Dhabi
For Abu Dhabi, however, the latest production represented more than just another appearance on screen. It marked the largest local shoot in the franchise so far, with 31 days of filming, including two in Al Ain, and involved more than 600 people based in the UAE.
The production included 206 local crew members, among them 12 stunt performers, as well as 336 contractors, six interns and 38 residents who appeared in crowd scenes.
That scale reflects how Abu Dhabi’s role has grown since the first Dune film, which spent only five days shooting in the emirate.
“Every production that Abu Dhabi was able to attract builds more for the next project or the next production that comes to Abu Dhabi,” says Sameer Al Jaberi, head of the Abu Dhabi Film Commission.
While the second Dune film returned for 27 days, supported by roads, facilities and logistics developed around the desert locations, it was the third that arrived with a larger crew and a more extensive plan.
Over seven years, Al Jaberi says the partnership with Legendary Entertainment has developed into a relationship built on confidence in Abu Dhabi’s crews, infrastructure and its ability to host productions of this scale.
“Their decision to return is evidence of the trust and confidence they have in what Abu Dhabi has to offer,” he says.
'I’m very proud to have been part of this project'
For Emirati actor Mohamed Mostafa, who joined the film as a stuntman, the production provided the biggest opportunity of his career so far. He got the call from stunt lead Najmeddin Scorpion, with whom he had worked on the Abu Dhabi TV MMA series Khattaf.
“He called me one day and said: ‘I’ve got something massive for you,’” Mostafa says. “I told him that if he was calling me, it must be good news. He asked whether I was in, and I had already said 'yes' before he even told me what it was.”
When he learnt the production was Dune: Part Three, he says he was “on the edge of my seat”.
“I couldn’t wait for it to start,” he says. “Once it started, I didn’t want it to end, and when it did, I couldn’t wait to do it again.”
Mostafa had previously worked as an actor who also performed stunts, but this was the first project on which he was credited specifically as a stunt performer.
The role required him to adapt quickly, including during an action sequence in which he had to work with his weaker hand.
“I’m left-handed, but I had to perform using my right hand, which was quite challenging,” he says. “That is what I love about film. You have to be agile and able to adapt on the spot.”
The experience also allowed him to study the working methods of an international cast that included Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Robert Pattinson and Javier Bardem.
“You take something from every person around you, especially when you’re surrounded by such great talent,” Mostafa says. “You observe the things that work for you in each actor’s style and the way they approach their work. You learn from those things and then make them your own.”
He hopes the experience will help him move towards larger acting roles.
“I’m very proud to have been part of this project and to have represented the UAE,” he says.
'A journey for our talent'
The film also gave six interns practical experience across departments, including camera, art, production and location management. Some Emirati interns travelled to Budapest, where filming began, before joining the production in Abu Dhabi.
Gehad Darwish, head of talent and partnerships at the Creative Media Authority in Abu Dhabi, says the emphasis is not simply on filling a set number of places.
“It’s more about the quality of the interns and the production, and how we can pair them together,” Darwish says.
The placements form part of a longer development process that begins with media camps for children aged 8 to 12, followed by workshops for high school and university students. Internships are intended to give participants experience on professional sets before they move into freelance or paid production roles.
“For us, it is a journey for our talent,” Darwish says. “The aim is for them to progress beyond being interns and become freelancers or be hired to work on these projects. That is how we measure success.”
Darwish says former interns have already made that transition across Hollywood, Bollywood and Arab productions filmed in Abu Dhabi, with some later being hired or rehired as crew members.
That growing pool of local experience is becoming part of the emirate’s appeal to international filmmakers.
Al Jaberi says the desert remains one of Abu Dhabi’s most distinctive locations, but its wider strength lies in the range of environments and production support it can offer.
“When you ask a producer what makes them choose a destination, there is never only one reason,” he says. “It is a combination of factors.”
Dune: Part Three releases internationally on December 16 and in North America on December 18.
