Anya Taylor-Joy's cameo in 'Dune: Part Two' explained: Who Alia Atreides is and why she matters for 'Dune: Part Three'

• Anya Taylor-Joy has a very small role in "Dune: Part Two," which could become more important.
• Her character appears in a vision that Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) has.
• Here's who Taylor-Joy is playing, and what her character might mean for "Dune: Part Three."

Anya-Taylor Joy's cameo in "Dune: Part Two" only last a few seconds, but it could lead to something bigger if Warner Bros. gives the go-ahead for "Dune: Part Three."

The 2024 sequel sees Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) wage war against Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) and Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV (Christopher Walken) to free the planet Arrakis and its native population, the Fremen, from oppressive rule.

If that wasn't enough, Paul also has to deal with visions of the future. They show him that if he rallies the Fremen together to free Arrakis, he'll unleash an extremist force that will ignite a bloody holy war across the galaxy — which will potentially kill billions of people.

While all that is happening, Paul's mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), uses her own supernatural abilities to talk to her unborn daughter — who's still in the womb — about Paul and the plan to free Arrakis.

While Paul's sister isn't a key part of the story, she briefly appears in one of his visions — and she's played by Taylor-Joy.

Anya Taylor-Joy plays Alia Atreides in 'Dune: Part Two'

After the Harkonnens make a devastating attack on one of the Fremen's strongholds, Paul realizes that the only way he can get any advantage over them is to drink from the Water of Life.

This opens his mind and allows him to see the future before it happens. And he becomes a powerful messianic figure, called the Kwisatz Haderach. But when he drinks the liquid — which comes from a sandworm — he falls into a coma.

While unconscious, Paul has a vision of Alia hiking through the desert on Arrakis before finding herself on a beach, with the waves of an ocean lapping at her feet. Yes, an actual ocean on the desert planet.

In the books, Arrakis is eventually terraformed into a less hostile version of itself, complete with jungles and oceans, so this could be a nod to that.

Alia Atreides could replace her brother in 'Dune: Part Three'

If "Dune: Part Three" happens, it's possible that Taylor-Joy will become a more prominent part of the franchise, and if Villeneuve continues to follow the books, it's possible she'll replace Paul as the head of the Atreides family, and the universe itself.

Considering Alia is still in the womb in "Part Two," there would need to be a time jump for "Part Three" to explain how she's already a young woman. Or Villeneuve could just chalk up the accelerated aging to the spooky space-witch magic of Lady Jessica and the Bene Gesserit.

Regardless, "Dune: Part Three" would presumably adapt the next book in the series by Frank Herbert, "Dune: Messiah," which deals with how Paul's holy war has led to the deaths of billions of people across the universe.

Because of this, other factions try to assassinate Paul to usurp him from his seat of power — much like he did when he murdered the Baron and took over from the Emperor. He's blinded by one of these attacks, and the Fremen's law dictates that any blind person must wander the desert.

So, Alia takes his place as the new Emperor instead — and she also cares for his children, Leto II and Ghanima, since Chani (Zendaya) is also dead by this point. She even starts a relationship with a clone of Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa).

So there's plenty of plot twists for Taylor-Joy to explore as Alia if "Dune: Part Three" gets off the ground.

And we've not even mentioned the fact that the ghost of Baron Harkonnen possesses her in the third book, "Children of Dune." Gross. But let's face it, that's an article for another day.