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Fans hungry for more from Denis Villeneuve’s Dune saga can get an early taste of the upcoming third chapter — but only if they snag very specific tickets. A brief slice of the new film will screen before select showings of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, offering a rare, high-impact preview weeks ahead of the official release.
Where you can watch the sneak peek: IMAX 70mm screenings only
The clip runs for about four minutes and will play exclusively before IMAX 70mm presentations of The Odyssey. That format is Nolan’s preferred theatrical experience. Only a small number of venues can project 70mm IMAX. Worldwide, roughly 41 theaters are equipped for these screenings.
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- If you bought a ticket to an IMAX 70mm screening, you may see the Dune excerpt.
- Non-70mm IMAX and all other formats will not include this preview.
- Many of the 70mm showings have already sold out, so planning is crucial.
In short: the footage is limited and tied to a rare film format. Get to the theater early if you want to avoid missing it.
What the clip shows: a shockingly different battlefield
War replaces dunes in this sequence. The footage introduces a massive assault on a wet, muddy world. Ships descend carrying troopers led by the Fremen leader Stilgar. The campaign is fought in the name of the now-Emperor Paul Atreides.
The planet is the opposite of Arrakis. Sky is low and gray. Rain falls — for some Fremen, the sight of water from above is new. That wonder quickly turns to terror when troops hit the ground. Weapons cut through ranks. A towering gun emplacement rises from the dirt. Explosions and laser fire turn the landscape into a chaotic war zone.
Standout moments to expect
- Majestic ships gliding toward a rainy world.
- Fremen soldiers experiencing rain for the first time.
- Stilgar commanding forces alongside unfamiliar allies.
- A massive gun tower emerging and decimating ranks.
- Large-scale explosions that underline the sequence’s intensity.
The clip hits hard. It’s visceral, loud, and grimy, with a cinematic tone closer to classic ground-combat films than to the desert battles of earlier instalments.
How Warner Bros. is rolling out footage and why that matters
This isn’t the first time Warner Bros. has used premium screenings to debut Dune content. Earlier in the year, CinemaCon audiences saw footage from a combat set piece. That same material reappeared in IMAX at the trailer event on July 8, where Villeneuve noted a version would play ahead of Nolan’s film.
Warner Bros. previously used a similar strategy with Nolan’s The Odyssey. Short excerpts from other titles were tied to IMAX 70mm re-releases, then later expanded to wider IMAX showings for larger audiences. That history opens the possibility that the Dune sequence could move beyond the initial 70mm-only window.
- CinemaCon: early battle footage shown to industry attendees.
- July trailer event: IMAX screening with extended clips.
- Current: a shortened scene playing before IMAX 70mm screenings of The Odyssey.
- Potential next step: broader IMAX rollout, depending on studio plans.
For now, only those in the few capable theaters will see the four-minute preview. If history repeats, wider access may follow.
Practical details for fans planning to catch the preview
- Check which local cinemas offer IMAX 70mm projection.
- Confirm your ticket is for a 70mm showing, not a standard IMAX screening.
- Arrive early; the preview runs before the feature starts.
- If you can’t attend, expect the full battle to appear in the December release.
The Odyssey is currently playing in theaters. Dune: Part Three is set to open on Dec. 18, when audiences will finally see the complete sequence in context.
