DUNE Star Jason Momoa Confirms Return For DUNE: MESSIAH - "If You Didn't Read The Books, It's Not My Fault"

DUNE Star Jason Momoa Confirms Return For DUNE: MESSIAH - "If You Didn't Read The Books, It's Not My Fault"

Jason Momoa has now confirmed that he will reprise his role as Duncan Idaho for the third Dune movie despite his character's untimely death in the first film...

By MarkCassidy - Apr 02, 2025 10:04 AM EST
Filed Under: Dune
Source: Via SFF Gazette

Denis Villeneuve recently revealed that his adaptation of Dune: Messiah (though the movie will likely end up being titled Dune: Part 3) will be his next project. Pre-production has been underway for some time, and filming is expected to commence later this year.

Now have confirmation that a certain character from the first movie will return.... despite his untimely death.

Jason Momoa's Duncan Idaho was killed off towards the end of Dune: Part One, but the Aquaman star has now revealed that he will reprise the role for the third film.

"I’m making a comeback," Momoa tells USA Today. "Well, I’m not sure if I’m going to get in trouble or not, but it’s the same thing like Game of Thrones, you know what I mean?" he added. "If you didn’t read the books, it’s not my fault, right? Yeah, there’s going to be… I’m going to be coming back."

How does Duncan return after what looked like such a definitive death? Well, in the Dune universe, an artificial copy (not exactly a clone) of a deceased person known as a Ghola can be created by a genetically altered race known as the Bene Tleilax.

Paul Atreides is presented with a Ghola of his old friend, and since he has the original's memories, Momoa will essentially get to play the same version of Duncan we met in the first movie.

Things don't exactly work out for the Idaho Ghola - at least not this first version!

What do you make of this news? Did you expect Momoa to return, or was this a complete surprise? Let us know in the comments section down below.

The saga continues as award-winning filmmaker Denis Villeneuve embarks on Dune: Part Two, the next chapter of Frank Herbert’s celebrated novel Dune, with an expanded all-star international ensemble cast. The film, from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, is the highly anticipated follow-up to 2021’s six-time Academy Award-winning Dune. 

The big-screen epic continues the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s acclaimed bestseller Dune with returning and new stars, including Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet (Wonka, Call Me by Your Name), Zendaya (Spider-Man: No Way Home, Malcolm & Marie, Euphoria), Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning), Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (Avengers: Endgame, Milk), Oscar nominee Austin Butler (Elvis, Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood), Oscar nominee Florence Pugh (Black Widow, Little Women), Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor: Love and Thunder), Oscar winner Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter,), Stephen McKinley Henderson (Fences), Léa Seydoux (James Bond, Crimes of the Future), with Stellan Skarsgård (Avengers: Age of Ultron), Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling (45 Years, Assassin’s Creed), and Oscar winner Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men, Being the Ricardos).

Dune: Part Two will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.

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mountainman
mountainman - 4/2/2025, 10:12 AM
Dune: The Duncan Saga.
mountainman
mountainman - 4/2/2025, 10:12 AM
@mountainman - He’s going to have a really fun time if they keep going through God Emperor.
TheWinkler
TheWinkler - 4/2/2025, 10:38 AM
@mountainman - I really hope they do. It is probably my favorite of the original 6.

I feel like you could make another trilogy out of Children and God Emperor, similar to how Dune and Messiah were adapted.
Blergh
Blergh - 4/2/2025, 10:54 AM
@mountainman - Momoa definitely got the sweetest deal of every actor in this, sure he wasn’t in Part 2 but from now on the man will be employed as long as the franchise makes money. I wonder if he gets paid more if he plays multiple characters.

Dude hit the jackpot, kudos
mountainman
mountainman - 4/2/2025, 1:50 PM
@TheWinkler - God Emperor is by far my favorite in the series. Very weird, but explores the themes better than the others. My second favorite is Messiah so I’m really looking forward to part 3.
mountainman
mountainman - 4/2/2025, 1:51 PM
@Blergh - The only potential problem is that Idaho is a much more complex character after the first Dune. Let’s see if Momoa can pull off the conflicted nature of the character well enough.
TheNewYorker
TheNewYorker - 4/2/2025, 10:14 AM
His Dune performance was good. Aside from that.. This dude is movie poison.
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 4/2/2025, 10:20 AM
@TheNewYorker - Sure he's been in some stinkers but his first solo fish man film made over a billion and that was during the stink of Whedon's Justice League.
Blergh
Blergh - 4/2/2025, 11:09 AM
@TheNewYorker - not necessarily his fault IMO. He’s an okay-ish actor who certainly profits from his looks. But in barely anything he has been in I would have identified him as a negative factor.

His Conan movie failed due to being too violent for kids and not violent enough for Conan fans, the studio wanted the 3D hype but failed all around. The failure of “Bullet to the Head” is entirely on Stallones ego; I can’t judge the success of direct to streaming movies right now but those are all theatrical movies he did before BvS.

And I think none of us will point to Momoa as the problem of Justice League.

Aquaman made bank, Aquaman 2 made more than the Flash on a smaller budget (so in a way it’s a win) and I can’t really find if the other movies he’s done since actually were released theatrically. He seems very committed to the TV game actually, which I didn’t know before.


Apophis71
Apophis71 - 4/2/2025, 11:48 AM
@Blergh - He was brilliant in Stargate Atlantis, so much so they expanded his role a LOT giving him a number of episodes devoted to exploring his backstory (when initialy was just meant to be a very simple barbarian type). As such gotta say he has the talent, just too oft not given enough in scripts to show them off in films but yeh, anything that didnt do so well I'd never put on Momoa and entirely on weak scripts/narratives.
Blergh
Blergh - 4/2/2025, 10:52 AM
Same sentiment from my side really, anyone complaining about being spoiled of the Ghola arc has to understand that these books are older then most of us are old. My dad was the reason I picked the books up in the 2000s.

People are WAY too sensitive over being “spoiled” and tantrums over spoilers have been way too freely encouraged. I totally get not spoiling something that JUST released but you can’t expect the world to shut up about a 40 year old twist.

People who care about Dune thanks to the Villeneuve movies will have stumbled across a spoiler here and there by now. And that’s fine. There’s more to his return, there’s more to come and given the series trajectory you won’t believe some spoilers to be real anyways.

Big space worm out
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 4/2/2025, 11:52 AM
@Blergh - That and how long can you realisticaly hide who is on the cast list in most cases esp if any filming outside takes place. Some spoilers I hate being leaked out, ones like this it isn't the fact he is back but the how and the role his return plays that is important and that hasn't been spoiled for those who have not read the books.
HagridsHole1
HagridsHole1 - 4/2/2025, 11:08 AM
Even though Messiah is a much more concise, and shorter book than the original, I could still see them splitting it in to two
mountainman
mountainman - 4/2/2025, 1:53 PM
@HagridsHole1 - Depends on how much time they spend showing Paul and the Fremen’s war. And they almost have to show some of it because Messiah has very little action in it.
MrDandy
MrDandy - 4/2/2025, 3:10 PM
The Ghola arc starts at the beginning of the book. Same will likely be the case here. I’d be shocked if his return isn’t also spoiled in the eventual marketing material and trailers.
Astroman
Astroman - 4/2/2025, 5:48 PM
Messiah could easily be one long movie verse 2. I think that’s a better way to as Children of Dune would almost certainly require 2 movies to cover. Hard to imagine it go beyond that but cool if they keep it going.
dragon316
dragon316 - 4/2/2025, 6:08 PM
Never read books

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