Jason Momoa’s been grabbing a lot of attention in recent years for playing Aquaman in the DC Extended Universe, but audiences will soon see him take part in a different kind of blockbuster event. The actor is bringing Duncan Idaho to life in Denis Villenueve’s Dune, and it allowed Momoa to work with some A-list Hollywood talent. This included Javier Bardem, who Momoa was especially excited to work with in this latest adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel.
In fact, one of the first scenes Jason Momoa shot for Dune had him acting alongside Javier Bardem, whom Momoa said is like a “god” to him. The shooting of said scene resulted in Momoa getting particularly emotional, with the actor explaining:
We were sitting at this table, and the scene is all about Javier walking into the room. I’ve never seen someone strut into a room like such a boss. He just comes right up to this table and stares everybody down. He’s glaring at everyone else but giving me a little bit of a twinkle, and I’m just giggling inside because I can’t believe I’m at this table right now. So then he delivers his lines and just kills it. And right after that, Denis goes up to him and starts giving him notes. I’m shocked, like, What the hell could you possibly be giving him notes on? So I’m standing there absolutely terrified because I had to deliver all this sci-fi exposition, which is not my bag at all. And then I did it and I did not get any notes at all. I was so unbelievably happy I could have cried.
So not only did Dune provide Jason Momoa the opportunity to work with Javier Bardem, he also made it through this scene without any notes, whereas Javier Bardem received a few instructions from Denis Villeneuve. Yeah, I don’t blame Momoa for feeling jubilated after delivering his lines, as he recalled during his interview with Men’s Health. Bardem was just one of the Dune costars Momoa spoke fondly about, with his other compliments including Timothee Chalamet being “as beautiful on the inside as he is on the outside,” Oscar Isaac being his “new man crush” and looking up to Josh Brolin.
Of course, Jason Momoa’s experience shooting that scene with Javier Bardem wasn’t the only time he got emotional during the making of Dune. Back in September, Momoa talked about a difficult scene involving him and Timothee Chalamet running across the desert through a windstorm, and he cried “like a little baby” because he didn’t want to disappoint Denis Villeneuve. In the end though, it sounds like Momoa enjoyed his Dune experience, and he called Villeneuve a “cinematic genius.”
Just like in the original source material, the new Dune movie depicts Jason Momoa’s Duncan Idaho as House Atreides’ swordmaster and a mentor to Timothee Chalamet’s Paul Atreides, the main protagonist. Along with the previously mentioned actors, the cast includes Rebecca Ferguson, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, David Dastmalchian, Stephen McKinley Henderson and Chang Chen. Rather than squeeze all of the original Dune story into one movie like David Lynch did in the ‘80s, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune will adapt the first half of the novel, and the sequel covering the remaining half is in development.
Get a taste of what Dune has in store for audiences by watching the trailer below.
Dune was originally supposed to come out next month, but it’s now been delayed to October 1, 2021. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates about the sci-fi epic, and look through our 2021 release schedule to learn what other movies are coming out next year.
