Where Dune: Part Three Was Filmed

Arrakis is Abu Dhabi again: a 31-day shoot in the Liwa Desert and Al Ain, what is known about it, and how close a visitor can get.

By Jessie Isberg November 4, 2026 5 min read

Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures

Arrakis has a permanent address, and for the third film running it is Abu Dhabi. Dune: Part Three, Denis Villeneuve’s final chapter of the saga, shot for 31 days in the emirate, with the Liwa Desert once again standing in for the desert planet and two of those days spent inland in Al Ain. Three films, one desert: a stretch of sand on the edge of the Empty Quarter has become as much a fixture of the series as any of its stars. The film opens internationally from 16 December and in North America on 18 December, in cinemas and IMAX.

Here is what is on the record about where it was made, and what a visitor can actually see.

Liwa: Arrakis, again

The fullest public account of the shoot came on 8 July, when the Abu Dhabi Film Commission put out the details alongside the trailer from Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures. Filming took place in the Liwa Desert, the same sand that served Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024), which makes the third film the last leg of a three-film run on one stretch of desert.

For the producers, the choice was apparently automatic. “Returning to Abu Dhabi’s Liwa Desert for Dune: Part Three was never in doubt,” said Herb Gains, Legendary’s executive vice-president of physical production.

The local footprint was large and precisely counted. More than 600 UAE-based people worked on the 31-day shoot: 206 local crew, 12 of them stunt performers, 336 local contractors and drivers, 38 people in crowd scenes and six interns. Image Nation Abu Dhabi was a production partner, Epic Films handled local production services, and the shoot drew on the emirate’s cashback rebate, with support from Creative Media Authority Abu Dhabi.

What has not been published is a map. No individual dunes or precise sites have been named, and Warner Bros. has not yet released production notes for the film. Any guide that pins a particular scene to a particular dune is guessing.

Al Ain: two days inland

Two of the 31 days were spent in Al Ain, the inland city on the emirate’s eastern side. What was filmed there has not been disclosed. Al Ain is the region’s oasis city, built around Al Ain Oasis, with thousands of palms, old forts and a traditional irrigation system still in use, and it holds UNESCO World Heritage status. For screen travellers it also makes a natural base for the desert routes south of the city.

The rest of the cast and crew

Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, Isaach De Bankolé, Charlotte Rampling, Anya Taylor-Joy, Robert Pattinson and Javier Bardem lead the cast, with newcomers Nakoa-Wolf Momoa and Ida Brooke. Villeneuve directed and wrote the screenplay with Brian K. Vaughan. Warner Bros. distributes worldwide, with Legendary East handling China. Behind-the-scenes photographs from the shoot show Villeneuve on the Liwa set with Zendaya and with Chalamet.

How to visit the Liwa Desert

Liwa sits in Al Dhafra, the emirate’s western region, at the edge of the Rub’ al Khali, the Empty Quarter. Abu Dhabi’s media zone, twofour54, calls it part of “the world’s largest uninterrupted sand mass,” and its screen credits run long: Star Wars: The Force Awakens used the dunes as the planet Jakku, and Furious 7 shot there too.

Tal Moreeb. The landmark most visitors know is Tal Moreeb, a dune more than 300 metres high with a 50 degree incline. Nothing official places a Dune scene on it, but it is the quickest way to grasp Liwa’s scale. The timing works, too: the Liwa International Festival runs at the dune from 11 December 2026 to 2 January 2027, daily from 4pm to midnight, with desert motorsport, Emirati heritage events and family activities, right across the film’s opening.

Where to stay. Two addresses stand out. Qasr Al Sarab, an Anantara resort, is built to resemble an old fortress town set among high dunes; Tilal Liwa Hotel has a pool that looks out over the sand. Dawn desert walks, camel trekking and falconry are all on offer.

Getting into the dunes. Book a desert safari through an established tour operator, as Visit Abu Dhabi advises. Morning, afternoon, evening and overnight options run from roughly AED 100 to AED 1,200 per person. Self-drivers have two marked routes: the Liwa Crossing, 109 km over 1.5 to 2 days, rated advanced and passing Qasr Al Sarab, and an Al Ain to White Sands route of 157 km that starts just south of Al Ain. Take a desert-ready four-wheel-drive vehicle, a spare tire, a first-aid kit, plenty of water and a charged phone. Abu Dhabi Police are on 999.

If you are planning a screen trip

The Dune films now belong to a short list of franchises whose locations are part of the tourism pitch, alongside New Zealand’s Lord of the Rings country and the desert locations of Mad Max. Unlike the Harry Potter sites in Britain, there are no sets to tour here. The draw is the landscape itself. Once the run in cinemas is over, The Remote‘s guide to the streaming window explains how long a Warner Bros. release typically takes to reach home viewing.

Where to watch

Dune: Part Three: in cinemas and IMAX, internationally from Wednesday 16 December
Dune: Part Three: in cinemas and IMAX, North America from Friday 18 December