Anya Taylor-Joy Calls Alia Her ‘Most Feral Creation’ and Says Dune: Part Three Makes Clear Paul Is No Hero

By Nico Grey · Published Nov 4, 2026, 9:13 PM (BKK)

Anya Taylor-Joy says Alia Atreides, the blood-soaked little sister she plays in Dune: Part Three, is her “most feral creation,” and that the film finally makes clear Paul Atreides is no hero. She said it in a New York Times cast interview published Nov. 4, 2026.

I’ve been behind the camera since 2001 and shot more than 2,000 scenes, so I know the exact moment an actress decides to scare you on purpose. Anya hit it in that trailer close-up, and now she’s telling The New York Times she went feral to get there. I’m listening.

The interview, by Eleanor Stanford, reunites Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Anya Taylor-Joy, Robert Pattinson and Jason Momoa ahead of the film’s Dec. 18 release (The New York Times). The cast portraits hit X a few hours later: FilmUpdates‘ group shot passed 80,000 views, and DiscussingFilm‘s post with Anya’s “Paul is no hero” quote topped 120,000 views and 2,100 likes within the hour. X posts mentioning Dune: Part Three, Anya or Florence Pugh jumped from about 100 an hour to more than 1,500 in the hour after the interview landed.

What Anya Taylor-Joy said about Alia

Alia is the daughter of Duke Leto and Lady Jessica, born on Arrakis with the powers and memories of an adult Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother. That makes her Paul’s most feared advisor, and the Bene Gesserit call her an abomination (CBR). The new film picks up roughly 17 years after Part Two, with Paul on the imperial throne (Ars Technica).

Here’s how she described the part to the Times, as quoted by FilmUpdates:

“At the end of the movie, Denis and I talked, and I was like, ‘Whoa, I’m the bad guy. That’s crazy.’ But I really understood where she was coming from. What a gift of a character to play somebody that has one connection to one person, and nobody else matters at all. That kind of straightforwardness felt almost animalistic in a way. I’ve never really done animal work before, but she was definitely my most feral creation.”

And on Paul, quoted by DiscussingFilm:

“[Like the books], this has kind of happened with the movies too. Paul is a very charismatic character and you have to have the third movie to be like, hold up, this is not the moral of the story.”

The final trailer, released Oct. 27, already gave fans the image to match. 3DVF calls Alia’s blood-covered face “the image that lingers” (3DVF).

The New York Times shoot

The rest of the cast on Paul, Zendaya and the movies

Chalamet told the Times the trilogy changed him and Zendaya together: “I was thinking about it with Z, usually you grow up with people over your childhood or your adolescence, and it was special with Z to kind of begin working with each other at the end of youth, and at the beginning of adulthood” (FilmUpdates). Zendaya remembered the first film the same way: “We were all anxious and really coming into it” (The New York Times).

Florence Pugh, back as Princess Irulan, gave the franchise credit for saving cinemas: “I think they brought back moviegoing. What an event the second one was. It was just so lovely to be a part of something that we know is our generational kind of ‘Star Wars’” (FilmUpdates). Newcomer Robert Pattinson, who plays the villain Scytale, called it “one of the only franchises where I’m like, ‘oh I’m a full fan’” (The New York Times, Ars Technica).

The money backs them up. The Times reports Part One and Part Two have grossed more than $1 billion worldwide together. Part Three, based on Frank Herbert’s Dune Messiah, opens on Dec. 18 in U.S. theaters and IMAX, the same day as Avengers: Doomsday (Warner Bros., 3DVF).

Dune: Part Three final trailer (Warner Bros., YouTube). Watch for Alia’s blood-soaked close-up.

Anya lately: Dior, V Magazine and Paris

She hasn’t been quiet off-screen either. This fall alone: a Dior holiday 2026 campaign in a white pleated dress, a V Magazine cover in a pale blue ball gown, sheer black Dior lace at Paris Fashion Week and a strapless satin corset gown at a Tiffany dinner in Paris.

The other Anya: her hottest scenes

If Alia is feral, The Northman (2022) is where it started. Anya plays Olga of the Birch Forest opposite Alexander Skarsgård, and Robert Eggers didn’t hold back.

Three years earlier she was Gina Gray in Peaky Blinders season 5, and she owned every scene she was in.

See all of Anya Taylor-Joy’s scenes, plus The Queen’s Gambit, Last Night in Soho and The Menu, on her hub → Her co-stars have hubs too: Zendaya and Florence Pugh.

How we got here

• 2019: Peaky Blinders season 5, Anya as Gina Gray.
• 2022: The Northman with Alexander Skarsgård.
• 2024: Dune: Part Two; Alia appears to Paul in a vision played by Anya (CBR).
• Oct. 27, 2026: The Dune: Part Three final trailer shows Alia covered in blood (3DVF, Ars Technica).
• Nov. 4, 2026: The New York Times cast interview: Alia is her “most feral creation” and Paul is no hero (The New York Times).
• Dec. 18, 2026: Dune: Part Three opens in U.S. theaters (Warner Bros.).

What’s confirmed

Confirmed: Anya Taylor-Joy plays Alia Atreides in Dune: Part Three, which opens Dec. 18, 2026 (Warner Bros.). The quotes above are from The New York Times interview published Nov. 4, as quoted on X by FilmUpdates and DiscussingFilm. Opinion: everything in Nico’s take.

FAQ

Who does Anya Taylor-Joy play in Dune: Part Three?

Alia Atreides, Paul’s younger sister, who was born with the memories and powers of a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother and becomes a feared advisor to Emperor Paul (CBR, Ars Technica). She first appeared briefly as a vision in Dune: Part Two.

What did Anya Taylor-Joy say about Alia?

In a New York Times cast interview published Nov. 4, 2026, she called Alia her “most feral creation” and said that after talking with director Denis Villeneuve she realized “Whoa, I’m the bad guy.”

Is Paul Atreides a hero in Dune: Part Three?

Not according to Anya Taylor-Joy. She told The New York Times that Paul is “a very charismatic character” and that “you have to have the third movie to be like, hold up, this is not the moral of the story.”

When does Dune: Part Three come out?

Dec. 18, 2026 in U.S. theaters and IMAX, with international releases starting Dec. 16, 2026 (Warner Bros.). It opens the same day as Avengers: Doomsday (3DVF).

Has Anya Taylor-Joy done nude scenes?

Yes, as an adult. Her best-known are The Northman (2022), where Olga walks naked into a hot spring and stands nude at a ritual fire, and Peaky Blinders season 5 (2019) as Gina Gray. The clips are collected on her Scandal Planet hub.

— Nico. Alia is coming for Paul on Dec. 18, and I’ve got a front-row seat. Until then, Anya’s wildest scenes are on her hub.

Fact-check: Scandal Planet Desk

Photos: Dune: Part Three still (Warner Bros.), The New York Times cast portraits (Charlie Gates) and shoot video as shared on X, Dior holiday 2026 campaign, V Magazine, Paris Fashion Week and event photos (2026). Clips from The Northman (2022) and Peaky Blinders (2019). ScandalPlanet watermark only.

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