Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya-starrer Dune: Part Three will hit theatres on 18 December 2026, the same day the MCU is set to release Avengers: Doomsday, actor Simu Liu confirmed on Wednesday.
“Prepare for DUNESDAY,” Liu wrote on X, coining the term to describe the high-profile box-office clash.
The actor will essay the role of martial artist Xu Shang-Chi in the upcoming superhero film.
Avengers: Doomsday promises to unite the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four and Thunderbolts on screen. The film marks the return of longtime Marvel collaborators Joe and Anthony Russo as directors, following their work on Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
The ensemble cast includes Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Benjamin Grimm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm and Chris Hemsworth as Thor. While Anthony Mackie will return as Captain America, Channing Tatum reprises his role as Gambit.
Robert Downey Jr. Is also returning to the MCU as the villain Vincent Van Doom aka Dr Doom in Doomsday.
Dune: Part Three, on the other hand, is backed by Warner Bros. The upcoming epic space opera film is expected to adapt Frank Herbert’s 1969 novel.
The first two instalments, Dune: Part One (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024), were based on Herbert’s seminal 1965 book Dune, which follows Paul Atreides as his noble House is drawn into a brutal conflict over the inhospitable desert planet Arrakis.
Chalamet and Zendaya will reprise their roles as Paul Atreides and Chani, respectively. Jason Momoa has also confirmed his return for the third instalment. The franchise also features Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem.
The impending clash has drawn comparisons with the 2023 box-office phenomenon Barbenheimer, sparked by the simultaneous releases of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.