Denis Villeneuve recently confirmed that his adaptation of Dune: Messiah (though the movie will likely end up being titled Dune: Part 3) will be his next project, and production is expected to get underway later this year.
Though this won't come as a surprise to anyone who has read Frank Herbert' seminal sci-fi saga, a key character from the first movie is set to return.
Jason Momoa's Duncan Idaho was killed off towards the end of Dune: Part One, but Jeff Sneider has now confirmed that the Aquaman star will reprise the role for the third film.
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 is presented with a Ghola of his old friend, and since he has the original's memories, Momoa will essentially get to reprise his role.
Things don't exactly work out for the Idaho Ghola - at least not this first version!
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.