With Dune 3 already on the 2026 movie release calendar for a December premiere, filmmaker Denis Villeneuve and the cast are getting started on filming the exciting sequel. Jason Momoa is among the returning cast, and he just filmed himself shaving his iconic beard to get ready to play Duncan Idaho again. Spoiler alert: he prefers facial hair.
Jason Momoa Shaves His Beard For The First Time In Years For Dune 3
The Aquaman actor is well known for rocking a beard, but as you might recall, he was actually clean-shaven for a few scenes in the first Dune movie as Duncan Idaho. Now that Jason Momoa is set to return to the storyline, it seems as though Denis Villeneuve has asked him to ditch the facial hair again, and he’s obliging. Check out the below video from Momoa’s Instagram:
Momoa said he hasn’t shaved in “six years” (for the first Dune movie) but “here we are again” thanks to his role in Dune 3. In the video above, Momoa quipped “Only for you, Denis” along with hilariously looking at his reflection and admitting he hates the look of himself after shaving his beard himself on camera.
And likely because the actor knew there would be a lot of eyes on the moment, he spent a good portion of the video talking up his bottled water company, Mananalu, which aims to promote reducing the use of plastic bottling by selling the product in reusable bottles made out of aluminum or glass.
How Does Duncan Idaho Return After His Death In Dune: Part I?
I know what you’re thinking: how the heck can Jason Momoa’s Duncan Idaho return after his fate in Dune: Part One? Well, the character does make a return in Dune Messiah, which Dune 3 is adapting, as a clone made by a character named Bene Tleilax and gifted to Timothée Chalamet’s character, Paul Atriedes.
While we were originally led to believe Villeneuve would wait a few years before diving back into the Dune franchise, the filmmaker shared that he was empowered by the reception of Dune: Part Two, and went right into writing the next movie.
Dune 3 is a big deal for Jason Momoa specifically because his son Nakoa-Wolf Momoa was cast to play the son of Paul Atriedes and Chani. Momoa has said that he didn’t actually want him to act, but he got the part “all on his own.” The Momoas join Zendaya, Florence Pugh and reportedly Robert Pattinson in the role of the movie’s villain.
Jason Momoa might not like his new look, but it gets us stoked for the return of Duncan Idaho. We’ll be able to see the clean-shaven actor in the sci-fi role when the next Dune movie hits theaters on December 18, 2026, yes, on the same day as Avengers: Doomsday’s release.