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DUBAI: The “Dune” franchise is returning to Abu Dhabi for a third time. “Dune: Part Three,” set to release in December 2026, will begin shooting in the UAE capital later this year, according to the Abu Dhabi Film Commission.

“The sweeping dunes of Liwa Desert return to the big screen as filming begins in Abu Dhabi later this year for the next chapter in the Dune saga,” the commission said on Instagram.

Creative Media Authority and Abu Dhabi Film Commission will provide logistical support, while Abu Dhabi production company Image Nation will be a production partner.

“Dune: Part Three” marks the latest addition to a growing list of Hollywood blockbusters filmed in Abu Dhabi. “F1 The Movie,” which spent over a month shooting in the emirate in 2024, featured Brad Pitt in the lead role. Meanwhile, the “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” threequel, also shot in the city, is slated for release later this year.

Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya reprise their roles in this latest installment. Jason Momoa has also confirmed he will return for “Part Three,” after featuring in the first “Dune” but not appearing in “Part Two.”

Last year, director Denis Villeneuve spoke about the film and said the next “Dune” installment “will not be the completion of a trilogy” in his eyes.

“First, it’s important that people understand that for me, it was really a diptych,” Villeneuve said to Variety of the first two “Dune” movies. “It was really a pair of movies that will be the adaptation of the first book. That’s done and that’s finished. If I do a third one, which is in the writing process, it’s not like a trilogy. It’s strange to say that, but if I go back there, it’s to do something that feels different and has its own identity.”

DUBAI: Lebanese celebrity hairstylist Tony El-Mendelek this week posted a video on Instagram showing himself giving US diplomat Morgan Ortagus a glamorous new hairdo. 

In the video, El-Mendelek begins by trimming Ortagus’s hair, focusing on shaping her bangs and the ends with clean, precise cuts. He then proceeds to blow-dry her hair into large, voluminous curls. 

“The woman you’ve been all waiting for,” he captioned the video of the Deputy United States Special Envoy to the Middle East.

The post quickly drew praise from fans and industry peers alike. Celebrity makeup artist Bassam Fattouh commented with fire emojis, while others left heart-eyed emojis and messages such as “the best,” “the king,” and “when the magic hands meet the big boss, perfection happens.”

El-Mendelek is known across the Arab world for his decades-long career in hairstyling. Based between Lebanon and Dubai, he has worked on magazine shoots, television programs and runway shows, and was previously the exclusive hairstylist for the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC). 

His salon in Beirut attracts celebrity and bridal clientele, and he is frequently tapped for styling public figures across the Middle East, including Egyptian singer Sherine, Yemeni Emirati singer Balqees, Egyptian singer Amal Maher and Lebanese actress Aimee Sayah, Lebanese singer Nawal El-Zoghbi, Egyptian star Angham and Lebanese music sensation Yara, to name a few. 

His portfolio also includes red carpet appearances, weddings and television productions, earning him recognition as one of the region’s most sought-after stylists.

Morgan Ortagus is an American political advisor, diplomat and former television commentator. 

Born in Florida, she served as spokesperson for the US State Department from 2019 to 2021. She currently holds the role of Deputy Special Presidential Envoy to the Middle East. 

Ortagus began her government career with USAID in Baghdad and later served as an intelligence analyst at the US Department of the Treasury. She also worked in Riyadh as Deputy Treasury Attaché. Outside government, she held private sector positions with Standard Chartered Bank and Ernst & Young.