Industry insiders claim that Jason Momoa‘s Duncan Idaho may return in Denis Villeneuve’s cinematic adaptation of Dune: Messiah. The Aquaman star was a prominent part of the first movie, Dune (2021). However, his character died and did not appear in Dune: Part Two (2024). If the scoop turns out to be true, it will align with the narrative of the source material.
Aquaman actor Jason Momoa rumored to return in Dune: Messiah
Jeff Sneider and John Rocha discussed Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Messiah in the recent episode of The Hot Mic podcast. Sneider claimed that he heard rumors that that the movie would feature the return of Duncan Idaho. As mentioned above, Jason Momoa portrayed Idaho in the first feature. The character is killed when he takes on a group of elite Sardaukar soldiers to give Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides and Rebecca Ferguson’s Lady Jessica enough time to escape.
In the podcast, Sneider asked Rocha and the viewers to take the rumors with a “grain of salt.” He added, “It’s in the books, so it’s not a huge shocker but I’m told that you will see the return of one Duncan…Idaho.”
Just like in the movie, Duncan dies in Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel Dune. However, in the second entry in the book series, 1969’s Dune Messiah, (spoilers alert) Paul receives a ghola from Guild Navigator Edric. This ghola, named Hayt, would become the first in the line of several manufactured humans created in Duncan’s image that would appear throughout the novels.
Notably, back in March 2024, Momoa said in an interview that he wanted to reprise his role in Dune 3.
Several outlets reported earlier this week that Dune 3 might go into production this summer. Sneider and Rocha discussed that as well, with the former mentioning that everyone was expecting that the project would start filming later this year or early next year. Warner Bros. and Legendary have not yet announced the release date of Dune 3, but Deadline reported in June 2024 that the studio had set December 2026 for a “Denis Villeneuve Event Film.”
Originally reported by Tamal Kundu on SuperHeroHype.
