Zendaya to Campaign for Best Actress Oscar in Dune 3
- Zendaya will campaign in the Best Actress category for her role as Chani in Dune: Part III, marking a shift from the supporting actress positioning she held in...
- The larger and different role for Zendaya's character in the upcoming sequel has drawn attention across the entertainment industry.
- She isn’t Paul’s faithful concubine, pining for the day she can proudly bear his children.
Zendaya will campaign in the Best Actress category for her role as Chani in Dune: Part III, marking a shift from the supporting actress positioning she held in the first two films, Variety reported. The decision reflects Chani’s expanded role in the story, according to Variety.
Chani Role Shift in Dune Three
The larger and different role for Zendaya’s character in the upcoming sequel has drawn attention across the entertainment industry. IGN’s Jesse Schedeen wrote that everything seen of Dune: Part Three so far suggests Chani is playing a vastly different role compared to the Frank Herbert source material Dune Messiah.
Zendaya will be campaigned for Best Lead Actress for her performance in ‘DUNE: PART 3’.She has been campaigned in Best Supporting Actress for the previous ‘Dune’ films.(Source: https://t.co/mXV0f9K0F5) pic.twitter.com/JnVvIJyU9I
Her status quo is completely different. She isn’t Paul’s faithful concubine, pining for the day she can proudly bear his children. She’s rejected Paul and everything he stands for, preferring instead to live as a true Fremen, totally free and a servant to no one.
Jesse Schedeen, IGN
Warner Bros. and representatives for Zendaya declined to comment on the campaign shift reported by Variety. The film is set nearly two decades after Paul Atreides seized control of the Imperium.
Awards Season Contender Across Multiple Films
Neither of the actors in the past two Dune movies earned an Oscar or a Golden Globe nomination, although both films received technical nominations. GoldDerby prognosticators do not currently list Zendaya as a hopeful in either Oscars actress category for her 2026 films, though they place her Odyssey co-stars Anne Hathaway and Samantha Morton as leading contenders for Best Supporting Actress.
According to GoldDerby, Zendaya is currently being considered for a Golden Globe nomination for Best Film Comedy/Musical Actress for The Drama and as TV Drama Actress for the concluding season of Euphoria, alongside receiving Screen Actors Guild nomination consideration for Euphoria. She kicked off 2026 starring as Emma Harwood in The Drama and played Athena in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, alongside reprising her role as MJ in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Release Schedule and Academy Rules
Warner Bros. will release Dune: Part Three in theaters and Imax on Dec. 18. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences altered its rules ahead of the upcoming Oscars race, updating policies on artificial intelligence and allowing multiple nominations for the same actor in the same category.
The ceremony for the 99th Academy Awards is scheduled to be broadcast live on ABC and Hulu starting at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on Sunday, March 14, 2027, with Conan O’Brien serving as host.