Doomsday or Dune 3 first? Florence Pugh has a very specific plan for opening day

Right, here’s a dilemma you don’t get every week: two blockbuster films with Florence Pugh are landing in cinemas on the same day. It’s not exactly Sophie's Choice, but for proper filmgoers it may as well be. The date pencilled in? 18 December 2026. Prepare your calendars—and maybe your stamina.

‘Do Dune first. Go have some lunch, process that, chat about it, dissect it, talk about it, maybe have the night off to talk about it. Following day, do Avengers (Doomsday), or in the evening, do Avengers.’

That’s Pugh herself, chatting to Elle magazine about which film she’d recommend prioritising, now that Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three are gunning for the same release slot. She did also add—after probably realising fans will be seeing both anyway—‘I don’t know, just go watch them both. That would be great. And then tell me what you think.’ Can’t argue with that, to be honest.

Florence Pugh’s Double Duty

Pugh’s managed to land herself with two of the biggest franchises going. In Dune: Part Three, she’s back as Princess Irulan, the royal historian and spouse of Paul Atreides. So, if you’re invested in sand planets, political backstabbing and massive worms, you’ll want to see how she handles the next round of galactic chaos.

The official line is it’s all about Paul Atreides facing the consequences of his new-found imperial power while old friends and nastier foes circle. There’s talk of rebellion, betrayal at every turn, visions of everything collapsing around him, and naturally, romantic drama with Chani. Villeneuve isn’t exactly known for giving his leads an easy run.

Over in Avengers: Doomsday, Pugh’s taking up the Yelena Belova mantle again, aka Black Widow 2. This one’s the fifth Avengers film, and the penultimate outing in Marvel’s Multiverse Saga. The plot (if you care) picks up 14 months after Thunderbolts, and by the sound of it, the entire multiverse is collapsing like a badly-stacked Jenga tower. Heroes from three different universes—the classic Avengers, Wakandans, and New Avengers from Earth-616; Fantastic Four from Earth-828; and X-Men from Earth-10005—are all teaming up. Why? Because Doctor Doom fancies wiping them out.

Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three both open in cinemas worldwide on 18 December 2026.

• Pugh returns as Princess Irulan in Dune: Part Three, with palace intrigue and interstellar warfare on tap.
• In Avengers: Doomsday she steps in as Yelena again for Marvel’s next-to-last Multiverse extravaganza, up against Doctor Doom with help from a truly absurd crowd of superheroes.
• Both blockbusters hit theatres everywhere on the same day, so if you see two Florence Pugh costumes in the lobby, you’re not going mad.