Timothée Chalamet Hums Into a War Chant on ‘Desert Chant’, the First ‘Dune: Part Three’ Single
Few modern franchises sound as distinctive as ‘Dune‘. Hans Zimmer’s scores for Denis Villeneuve’s films mix real instruments, synth textures and voices into something that feels genuinely otherworldly. Zimmer won the Oscar for the first film’s score, and his music for ‘Dune: Part Two’ later took home a Grammy.
That work didn’t have an easy ride in every awards room. ‘Dune: Part Two’ was ruled ineligible for the Oscars because the Academy’s rules cap pre-existing themes in a sequel score at 20%, and Zimmer’s follow-up borrowed substantially from the first film. With the trilogy’s finale approaching, fans have been watching to see where Zimmer takes the sound next.
It’s here… Desert Chant from Dune: Part Three by Timothée Chalamet & Hans Zimmer is available now -> https://t.co/WlJV6Hbr0K Experience Dune: Part Three only in theaters and IMAX December 18. #DuneMovie https://t.co/NiT57DiyHL
— WaterTower Music (@watertowermusic) October 20, 2026
On October 20, WaterTower Music released ‘Desert Chant’, the first single from the ‘Dune: Part Three’ soundtrack. The track begins with Timothée Chalamet humming before ascending into a war chant, and it’s written by Zimmer, who also scored the previous films. It’s available now on all major digital platforms, credited to Chalamet and Zimmer.
The release gives Chalamet’s voice a prominent place in the film’s musical identity, rather than keeping it purely on screen. For fans, it’s also the first real taste of what the new score sounds like. The announcement didn’t include a release date for the full soundtrack album.
Zimmer says returning to ‘Dune’ meant returning to the novel that lit his imagination as a teenager, the same book that later bonded him with Villeneuve. In WaterTower Music’s announcement, he said that two teenagers moved by the same novel will inevitably meet and become “creative brothers”. It’s a small detail, but it explains why this collaboration has felt so personal across three films.
The sound of that partnership has also changed over time. For ‘Part Two’, Zimmer differentiated the cultures more sharply, with colder, more metallic sounds for the Harkonnens and a warmer, heated score for the Fremen. A war chant built around a human voice suggests the finale may lean harder into the human and spiritual side of Paul’s story.
The film is based on Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune Messiah’ and picks up 17 years after the events of ‘Part Two’. Paul Atreides is now emperor, married to Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), while maintaining his relationship with Chani (Zendaya). Enemies are conspiring against him, including the Bene Tleilax, a sect of genetic manipulators.
Villeneuve has said the film will lean more toward a thriller and include more action than the first two. The cast includes Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Anya Taylor-Joy as Alia, Jason Momoa as a new version of Duncan Idaho and Robert Pattinson as Scytale. The film was shot primarily on 65mm film stock, with sequences in 15/70mm IMAX and desert scenes captured in IMAX Digital.
The project is also billed as the last time Chalamet and Villeneuve work in this universe. That gives ‘Desert Chant’ extra emotional weight as an early signal of how the trilogy will sound as it closes. Given how the story ends for Paul in the source material, a chant that starts as a hum and swells into war feels fitting.
“Forgive me for all I’ve done.” Experience the epic conclusion. Dune: Part Three only in theaters and IMAX December 18. #DuneMovie #FilmedforIMAX https://t.co/x9Nftg9yXd
— DUNE (@dunemovie) July 8, 2026
‘Dune: Part Three’ opens in North America on December 18, with international releases beginning December 16. It’s heading into a very crowded weekend, going head-to-head at the box office against ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, and tickets are already on sale. The first two films earned more than $1.1 billion globally, so expectations are high.
Whether the score will be eligible for awards this time remains to be seen, but the music is already part of the conversation.
Are You Excited for ‘Dune: Part Three’ After Hearing ‘Desert Chant’?
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