‘Dune’ Is Great, Jason Momoa Is The Best

by 24USATVOct. 23, 2021, 7 a.m. 62
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There is no shortage of things to praise about Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, which is being heralded as the most arresting sci-fi film since Blade Runner 2049, also…directed by Denis Villeneuve. The man understands worldbuilding, and has an ability to take even beloved, classic science fiction properties and do them justice, as he’s done twice here now.

The visuals, the casting, the action, all of its is phenomenal, and yet as I watched Dune, I couldn’t help but think something kept standing out above everything.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always liked Momoa, from his breakout role as Khal Drogo on Game of Thrones to his turn as Aquaman, turning that character from a meme into unironically one of the DCEU’s best heroes.

But Dune? Dune feels like a moment for him. He’s not the star, of course. That would be Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides. Momoa is Duncan Idaho, a trainer, soldier, pilot and friend to Paul. He doesn’t get a ton of screen time, which is true to the books, and yet every time he appears, he’s a mix of charm, levity and when the moment calls for it, badassery, as it’s no surprise, given his action background, he’s given the best fight sequences of the film.

Momoa is also handed one of the best moments of the film, though we’ll have to get into spoiler territory now. This is his “last stand” “hold the door” moment where he singlehandedly fights off two dozen or so elite Sardaukar troops so Paul and his mother can escape. He’s stabbed through his midsection, seems dead, then gets up and kills even more enemies before being killed for a final time.

A question that many people who watch Dune may have is whether Duncan Idaho is really dead, and if we could see Momoa return in the role in the future, which I think most would love to see.

The answer is complicated, as the Dune universe tends to be.

In short, yes, Duncan is dead, no, we would not see him in a sequel. A second Dune movie would presumably only get through the second half of the book, as this first film only managed to get through the first half despite being two and a half hours long. Duncan Idaho does not return in that book.

But in the overall Dune series of books, Duncan Idaho returns many, many times. He is frequently cloned and resurrected. For his first rebirth, he’s cloned and given as a sort of “gift” to Paul, though he has no memory of his former life (over time, bits and pieces break through). He’s actually secretly programmed to kill Paul, but finally recovers his memories and stops himself from carrying out that order. He ends up married to Paul’s sister, Alia, but is later killed by Stilgar.

He keeps coming back though. He is reborn, dies and is replaced by Leto for ages, who considers him an essential part of the god emperor’s reign, until one final incarnation near the end of the series.

So, Dune just can’t let go of Duncan Idaho. But the problem here is that for Momoa to reappear in the role, we’d have to get Dune movies greenlit past Dune Part 2, finishing out the first book. Only then might we see Momoa show up again. While we know Villeneuve and WB want to make the second film, after that, it’s unclear, and it does seem likely that Villeneuve would move on to a new project rather than make even more Dune movies. But we’ll have to see.

Momoa, meanwhile, can be seen starring in Apple TV’s See, this past season alongside Dune co-star Dave Bautista, and sadly the two never got to fight in the movie. He has about four more films in production, so he’s in no short supply of work. Dune, however, feels like a very important moment for his career, and I’ll look forward to seeing even more of him soon.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and its audiobook, and The Earthborn Trilogy, also on audiobook.

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