Dune 3 Set to Film at the Athabasca Sand Dunes of Saskatchewan

Legendary Pictures’ epic science fiction movie ‘Dune’ will begin shooting parts of Dune 3 in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca sand dunes in mid-2025.

While preparation and filming are in progress in 2025, the Athabasca Sand Dunes will be closed to visitors. Those wishing to camp in the area during this time, however, can sign up to be extras in the movie, forgoing modern tents for sleeping within the sand as Fremens do.

“Much of the desert shots in the film, which look like Saudi Arabia at times, will be filmed here in Northern Saskatchewan and we are really excited to feature this incredibly unique natural attraction. They cover about 2000 square kilometres south of Lake Athabasca and are considered the most northern dunes in the world,” said Jodi Holloway, Travel Media Consultant at Tourism Saskatchewan.

Although parts of Dune 1 and 2 were shot in Wadi Rum in southern Jordan, a UNESCO World Heritage site, the current war happening nearby in Gaza has forced the production team to find a safer location.

Aside from the horrendous horse flies, it’s hard to think of a safer place than Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park. Located in Northern Saskatchewan, this remote park is incredibly hard to visit, requiring an expensive private float plane flight or boat. “You’d have a higher chance of being attacked by a moose than being hit by a missile here,” said John Willows, director of park operations.

“One of the biggest hurdles the crew will need to jump through is getting all of the equipment and actors to such a remote place,” said Denis Villeneuve, director of Dune. “For our purposes, we will be utilizing many float planes but we’ve also been in talks with the Canadian military about using one of their Chinook helicopters. However, some of the crew have opted for a multi-day canoe trip”.

Despite the lack of amenities, most of the crew is truly looking forward to spending time in such a remote wild place. “I, for one, am really looking forward to an endless supply of Great Western Pilsner,” chuckled Timothée Chalamet.

The dates are planned for spring 2025, which is prime time for bugs. However, it will likely last until the Fall, giving the crew enough time to experience the sweltering hot summer and a cool fall as well. They’ll even have some off-time to explore Saskatoon.

While Dune 3 will be one of the largest productions to take place in Canada, not to mention the largest production in Saskatchewan’s history, one of the really exciting aspects is the potential to turn the Athabasca Sand Dunes into the next major natural amusement park.

“We’re not talking about themed rooms and haunted houses,” said John Hastings, Minister of Tourism. “What we’re looking into is having the crew leave behind much of the machinery. Imagine being able to travel to the Athabasca Sand Dunes and stay inside one of the futuristic buildings or spaceships. Imagine being able to sit down in one of those cool dragonfly helicopters. Maybe we could even make it operational for scenic flights over the area. There’s so many possibilities” he added.

If this happens, Saskatchewan plans to build an airport next to the Athabasca Sand Dunes, turning a remote location into one of the biggest attractions west of Niagara Falls.

“This would be such a spectacular region to show off. Imagine being able to travel all the way to Northern Saskatchewan and experience a Science Fiction theme park. Instead of big fried turkey legs at Disneyland, we could have freshly caught fried Northern Pike on a stick. It would be amazing” said Jodi Holloway of Tourism Saskatchewan. “This would put Saskatchewan on the world travel map. Forget Universal Studios” she added.

Even the town of La Ronge is excited. “After this movie promotes the sand dunes, there’s a good chance La Ronge could become the next major city in Saskatchewan, rivalling both Regina and Saskatoon,” said Mayor Tom Belowski.

“The bottom line is all the “moola” this will generate for the province, not to mention giving us more Klout to sell our canola, spring wheat, and lentils”, said Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe. “I know that once the crew eats our grains, they will never want grains from anywhere else”.

For a province not typically used to big productions, securing Dune 3 is almost unreal. It’s almost unbelievable. Laughable even.

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