Summary
- Duncan Idaho will return in Dune: Messiah
- Potential return hints at different portrayal
- Director Villeneuve key to Dune’s success
Jason Momoa just dropped a not-so-subtle hint about the status of his Dune character, Duncan Idaho. But it is one that wouldn’t and shouldn’t move longtime readers of Frank Herbert’s source material.
Jason Momoa played Ducan Idaho in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, the 2021 live-action adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel of the same name. Duncan Idaho is House Atreides’ ever-loyal swordmaster and mentor to heir, Paul Atreides (played by Timothée Chalamet). In the 2021 movie, he is one of the few survivors of the initial Harkonnen- Sardaukar ambush on House Atreides stronghold on Arraken, only meeting his end after making a last stand against several lasgun-armed Sardaukar soldiers to buy time for Paul and his mother, Lady Jessica Atreides to escape the secret Fremen outpost. Dune: Messiah, the third entry in the trilogy, picks up with now-Emperor Paul, grappling with the far-reaching consequences of the religious war waged in his name across the known universe.
Related
Dune: Paul’s Many Names, Explained
An exploration of the meaning and symbolism behind Paul Atreides’ titles in Dune, including Muad’Dib, Usul, and Lisan al-Gaib.
It’s Not Over For Duncan Idaho
He’ll Be Returning in Dune: Messiah
First-timers to the Dune universe who watched the first movie presumed that it was the end for the brave Idaho, especially given his absence in the sequel, Dune: Part Two. But Jason Momoa recently gave a revealing hope. Speaking on the TODAY show, Momoa, when asked by the host if he’d gotten a call from the makers of Dune: Legacy, responded first with a hint and an added caveat.
“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?…“If you didn’t read the books, it’s not my fault, right?”
He then hit the hammer on the head with the affirmative words:
“Yeah, there’s going to be … I’m going to be coming back.”
The following paragraphs contain spoilers for Dune: Messiah
Momoa stopped short of revealing the “how?” of Duncan’s return, but readers of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi saga already have a pretty clear clue. In Herbert’s second Dune novel (titled Dune: Messiah), Duncan returns as a ghola clone named Hayt, crafted by Bene Tleilax gene scientists and gifted to Emperor Paul (Atreides) Muad’Dib. The emotional importance of Duncan’s return in the largely political and religious tone of Dune: Messiah cannot be overstated. If it goes the way of the books, the clone will possess all of Duncan’s sword mastery and appearance sans his memories — memories that include an intricate friendship with Paul and a calmer relationship with the native Fremen. However, Villeneuve has shown a willingness to tweak the source material in his adaptations, indicating that Duncan might be returning in a different manner and scale — say via flashbacks and visions.
If the reports are accurate, Dune: Messiah is already gearing up for production that will begin this summer and many fans would hope to see Villeneuve score a cinematic hat-trick. Dune had been described as the hardest novel to adapt in live-action, but the filmmaker proved that theory wrong by pulling it off…twice. Save for any major changes, the third film in the trilogy would likely be the director’s last, but fans can be almost assured of Warner Bros.’ desire to continue the Dune franchise. Still, losing hands as capable as Villeneuve’s would be an undoubtedly huge loss for any franchise. His bow would be legendary, though, if it came with his eluded Academy Award for Best Director.
Source: TODAY/YouTube