Denis Villneave did something many had previously believed impossible when he adapted Frank Herbert’s Dune into two well-regarded and quite successful films. They were so well regarded that fans wanted to see more, and while the director initially seemed hesitant to go back to Arakis, it was eventually confirmed that Dune: Part Three was on the way.
This week, we saw the first trailer for Dune: Part Three, and while those unfamiliar with the books likely have a lot of questions about what’s going on, one of the biggest has to be ‘Wait a second, didn’t Jason Momoa’s character die in the first movie?’ This was apparently also a question Momoa himself had as he appeared at a special trailer preview event attended by CinemaBlend, where he asked Villeneuve…
I loved Dune 2, it was amazing, but there was one thing missing, obviously, one key ingredient. So my question to you Denis is, why’d you kill me off in the first one, and why am I back now?
I mean, the answer to both parts of that question is ultimately, because that’s what author Frank Herbert wrote in Dune and Dune: Messiah, the sequel that is the basis for Dune: Part Three. The reason for killing him off was likely just narrative necessity, as Idaho’s death leaves Paul Atraedes alone, and it is an emotional moment for the reader who likely came to like the character.
In his answer, Denis Villeneuve suggests, however, that part of the reason for the return of Duncan Idaho in the book may have been that Herbert realized he had killed off a quite popular character, and thus came up with a way to bring him back.
As far as how the return of Duncan Idaho works in the book, it’s essentially a form of cloning that allows Idaho to return, though in the book, he has no memory of his previous self (at least at first) and goes by a different name, Hayt.
Whatever the reason, Jason Momoa is certainly excited to be back in the world of Dune. You can tell by the way he asks his question that the fact that he missed out on Dune Part Two doesn’t bother him that much. He’s just glad to be back.
At a special #Dune Part 3 trailer event, Jason Momoa asks Denis Villeneuve how his character came back from the dead pic.twitter.com/P6iKZpDJ0GMarch 17, 2026
Dune Part Three is set to open in December, on the same day that Avengers: Doomsday will open in theaters. We would have expected one of them to move dates by now if that was going to happen, but so far it has not. If they do both open together, it’s almost guaranteed to make one of the biggest box office weekends in history.
