Timothée Chalamet Hums Into War Chant on First 'Dune: Part Three' Single

Timothée Chalamet opens "Desert Chant," the first single from "Dune: Part Three," by humming — before the track climbs into a full war chant. Hans Zimmer wrote the piece. He also scored the franchise's previous two films.

The single dropped ahead of the film's theatrical release on Dec. 18. Chalamet returns as Paul Atreides, picking up the story after his rise to power at the end of "Part Two."

What is the new film about?

"Dune: Part Three" draws on Frank Herbert's novel "Dune Messiah." The action takes place 17 years after the previous film and follows the consequences of Paul's rule as emperor. The story turns dark — really dark. Paul, blessed with visions of the future in the first film, has seen his mind grow clouded since taking control of the galaxy.

Returning cast members include:

• Rebecca Ferguson
• Javier Bardem
• Florence Pugh, whose role as Princess Irulan expands
• Anya Taylor-Joy, reprising Alia Atreides, now a devoted follower of her brother
• Robert Pattinson as a new addition
• Isaach de Bankolé as Paul's former Fedaykin death commando

Why Zimmer keeps coming back

For Zimmer, returning to Arrakis meant returning to the book that first fired his imagination as a teenager — the same book that later bonded him with director Denis Villeneuve.

"When two teenagers are deeply moved by the same novel that lets their imagination run wild, so wild that the mysticism and philosophy that captured their souls never lets them go, they will inevitably meet and become creative brothers," Zimmer said.

He added: "For me, the beauty of working on 'Dune' was that it would take me back into a time of being full of youthful imagination, where everything was true and the impossible was possible. I truly believe that Denis and I never stopped dreaming those dreams the book lit like fire in us teenagers, but now we had learned the craft and knowledge, having done a few films, to turn our mental images into reality."

What does this change for the franchise's sound?

Quite a bit, actually. The single puts Chalamet's own voice at the center of the score's opening statement. That choice signals a soundtrack built around Paul himself — an emperor whose grip on reality is slipping — rather than the sweeping world-building themes of the earlier films. With Zimmer and Villeneuve framing this chapter as the fulfillment of a teenage obsession, "Desert Chant" reads as the first signal of a darker, more interior final act.