Timothée Chalamet Hums Into a War Chant on ‘Desert Chant’, the First ‘Dune: Part Three’ Single

Tena Milakovic
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Few modern franchises sound as distinctive as ‘Dune’. Hans Zimmer’s scores for Denis Villeneuve’s films blend real instruments, synth textures, and voices into an experience that feels genuinely otherworldly. Zimmer won an Oscar for the score of the first film, and his music for ‘Dune: Part Two’ later earned a Grammy.

However, ‘Dune: Part Two’ faced challenges in the awards circuit. The Academy ruled it ineligible for the Oscars due to its substantial borrowing from the first film, as their rules limit pre-existing themes in a sequel score to 20%. With the trilogy’s conclusion on the horizon, fans are eager to see where Zimmer takes the sound next.

On October 20, WaterTower Music released ‘Desert Chant’, the first single from the ‘Dune: Part Three’ soundtrack. The track opens with Timothée Chalamet humming before evolving into a war chant, written by Zimmer, who also composed the scores for the previous films. It’s available now on all major digital platforms, credited to Chalamet and Zimmer.

This release highlights Chalamet’s voice in the film’s musical identity, rather than keeping it solely on screen. For fans, it serves as the first real glimpse of the new score. However, the announcement did not specify a release date for the complete soundtrack album.

Zimmer expressed that returning to ‘Dune’ meant revisiting the novel that inspired him as a teenager, the same book that later forged his bond with Villeneuve. In WaterTower Music’s announcement, he remarked that two teenagers moved by the same novel will inevitably become “creative brothers.” This detail underscores why their collaboration has felt so personal across three films.

The sound of their partnership has also evolved over time. For ‘Part Two’, Zimmer distinguished the cultures more sharply, using colder, metallic sounds for the Harkonnens and a warmer, more heated score for the Fremen. A war chant centered around a human voice suggests that the finale may delve deeper into the human and spiritual aspects of Paul’s journey.

The film is based on Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune Messiah’ and takes place 17 years after the events of ‘Part Two’. Paul Atreides is now emperor, married to Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), while still maintaining his relationship with Chani (Zendaya). Various enemies, including the Bene Tleilax, a sect of genetic manipulators, are conspiring against him.

Villeneuve has indicated that the film will lean more towards a thriller and feature more action than its predecessors. 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 primarily shot on 65mm film stock, with sequences in 15/70mm IMAX and desert scenes captured in IMAX Digital.

This project is also billed as the last time Chalamet and Villeneuve will collaborate in this universe. This gives ‘Desert Chant’ additional emotional weight as an early indication of how the trilogy will sound as it reaches its conclusion. Given how the story unfolds for Paul in the source material, a chant that begins as a hum and crescendos into war feels appropriate.

‘Dune: Part Three’ is set to open in North America on December 18, with international releases beginning December 16. It will face stiff competition at the box office, going head-to-head with ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, and tickets are already on sale. The first two films grossed over $1.1 billion globally, setting high expectations for the finale.

Whether the score will be eligible for awards this time remains uncertain, but the music is already part of the ongoing conversation.

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