Jason Momoa has explained why playing Duncan Idaho again meant solving an awkward problem: he’s physically the bigger man, but his character has to lose a fight to Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides. In an interview with The New York Times, quoted by IGN, Momoa said he had to work out how that would look on screen.
The setup comes from the story. AV Club reports that Momoa now plays Hayt, a ghola (a kind of clone) of Duncan, the House Atreides swordmaster who died in the first film. Paul has changed too. Nearly two decades on, he’s an emperor, and the friendship the two men had in Dune has turned strained enough that they come to blows.
Momoa told the paper the role was “probably the weirdest character I’ve ever had to navigate”. He said he’d been hired to play Duncan, then had to play someone who doesn’t know who Duncan was. He described the result as his most subtle performance, a low bar by his own admission: “I’m not the most subtle actor, or human.” He hasn’t seen the finished film, so he doesn’t know which takes Denis Villeneuve’s team used.
The fight is where the size difference comes in. Momoa said Paul is “at a whole other level, and better than me as a fighter” in the film, which left him wondering how that could convince an audience. Chalamet interrupted to call this a very polite way of saying Momoa could beat him in real life. Momoa didn’t argue with the premise, saying he’s the better fighter and Chalamet the better actor. He added that Chalamet is “really fast” and that the fight ends up working like choreography. In his words, it’s a dance, and he was impressed that Chalamet could do it.
The exchange is a lighter moment in a press run that has otherwise leaned on the film’s darker tone. Chalamet told the same interview that the film is “its own thing” and that Villeneuve moved the bar rather than lowering it, as Yahoo reports.
When Dune: Part Three opens in the UAE
VOX Cinemas lists a UAE release date of 17 December 2026, with English audio and Arabic subtitles. That’s a day ahead of the 18 December US date. The National also reports the UAE date, noting that the film shot desert sequences in Abu Dhabi’s Liwa. Reel Cinemas shows booking hasn’t opened yet, with showtimes due closer to release. IGN reports early IMAX preview screenings beginning 14 December, but we haven’t seen UAE preview or IMAX details.
When does Dune: Part Three open in UAE cinemas?
VOX Cinemas lists 17 December 2026, one day before the US release. Reel Cinemas shows bookings haven’t opened yet, with showtimes to follow closer to the date.
Who does Jason Momoa play in Dune: Part Three?
Momoa plays Hayt, a ghola (clone) of Duncan Idaho, the character he played in the first film. Duncan died in that film, so Hayt is a new version of him.
Does Momoa’s character really fight Paul in the film?
Yes. According to Momoa’s NYT interview as relayed by IGN, the two characters come to blows, and Paul has the upper hand. Momoa hasn’t seen the final cut, so he doesn’t know which takes are used.
