Jason Momoa confirms his ‘Dune 3’ return: ‘I’m making a comeback!’

One of the best-named characters in a certain sci-fi series is about to make a comeback.

Jason Momoa has confirmed that he is on board for Dune 3, despite his character Duncan Idaho being killed off in the franchise’s first entry. The admission came during the actor’s Monday morning visit to TODAY, where host Craig Melvin pointed out that Momoa’s character returns to the story in the source material, Frank Herbert’s six-part Dune series.

“Well, I’m not sure if I’m going to get in trouble or not,” Momoa, 45, began reluctantly. “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?”

When Melvin agreed, Momoa took that as a thumbs-up for his reveal: “Yeah, I’m going to be coming back.”

“Duncan Idaho is making a comeback?” Melvin asked.

“I’m making a comeback,” Momoa confirmed, before turning on the host. “You got me in trouble!”

As Melvin pointed out, news of Momoa’s return is no big surprise to those familiar with the best-selling Dune book series — he has a significant part to play in the story’s future.

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Momoa previously made his mark in 2021’s Dune as Duncan, the swordmaster of House Atreides and a mentor to Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides. Unfortunately, he didn’t survive the movie after sacrificing himself in the climactic finale to protect Paul and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), from an onslaught of Sardaukar troops. Momoa did not return for 2024’s Dune: Part Two, which completed the adaptation of Herbert’s original 1965 sci-fi novel.

The third film, slated for a 2026 release, will span the second novel, Dune: Messiah.

Back in 2021, Villeneuve told Entertainment Weekly that his goal was to make three Dune movies. 

“I always envisioned three movies,” Villeneuve said. “It’s not that I want to do a franchise, but this is Dune, and Dune is a huge story. In order to honor it, I think you would need at least three movies. That would be the dream. To follow Paul Atreides and his full arc would be nice.”

In addition to the return of Duncan Idaho, Dune Messiah promises meatier roles for key characters introduced in the second film, including Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) and Paul’s sister Alia (Anya Taylor-Joy). The film will also pick up on the ruptured romance between Paul and Chani (Zendaya).