Jason Momoa's Duncan Idaho Could Return In Dune 3 (With A Big Twist)

Frank Herbert's "Dune" universe is brimming with interesting characters. From brutal Harkonnens to heroic Atreides, conniving Reverend Mothers to heartwarming Fremen, the franchise has no lack of interesting people. If there's one fellow who wins the award for the guy you want around, though (for the laughs along with the protection), it has to be Jason Momoa's Duncan Idaho. From his surprisingly mundane last name to his relaxed nature to his battlefield prowess, Idaho is a standout character in "Dune" — that is until he suddenly dies toward the end of the first movie.

As Paul Atreides and his mother, Jessica, flee from the wrath of the Harkonnens, Idaho stays behind, giving his life to slow their enemies down and give his lord and lady a chance to escape. This heroic last stand makes Idaho's role that much better in the story, but it also means Momoa had to exit the two-part "Dune" story early.

The good news for fans of Momoa's memorable performance is that there's a strong chance they'll see the loyal member of House Atreides again in director Denis Villeneuve's sequel to "Dune's" two-part first story: "Dune Messiah." In fact, it's highly likely. The catch? He won't be quite the same person since, in the books, Idaho's character returns in the sequel in the form of a ghola. What is a ghola? We're glad you asked. Let's break down the strangely lifeless-yet-resurrected invention of Herbert's to see how Idaho might come back different in the third act of Villeneuve's "Dune" trilogy.

Despite its human-centric storyline and lack of artificial intelligence (the thinking machines of the "Dune" Universe were exterminated in the distant history of the Butlerian Jihad), there is still plenty of room for the imagination to run wild — and we're not just talking about sandworms or the tragically enhanced Alia (played by Anya Joy Taylor). Gholas are another of Herbert's more disturbingly captivating creations.

These creatures come from a group of secretive, genetically altered humans called the Tleilaxu. Gholas are originally used to provide comfort by recreating a copy of a deceased person that has their physical attributes but none of their personal memories. If you're splitting hairs, these are different than a clone due to the fact that they are recreated from dead cells of the original body rather than living ones. (Semantics? Try saying that to the more studied members of the "Dune" fandom.)

In "Dune: Messiah," The Tleilaxu use Duncan's dead body to create another version of the veteran warrior. While we won't go into spoiler specifics about what the ghola is used for (let's just say it's not a good thing), this opens the door for a Momoa return in the sequel story and third movie of the cinematic franchise.

Momoa is up for the part, too. In response to a statement about Duncan Idaho being revived in the books, he told Men's Health,

"It'll be a good future now if Duncan Idaho may have some sort of ... You know what we did have? Oh man, I can't actually say this. I'll get in trouble. F***. Well, there was something that was really cool that went into the movie that didn't make the first one, and it was pretty epic [...] I'll try to get it back. I'll try to get it back in the third one."

Idaho's return in the story may be a surreal, ghoulish half-reality, but based on the cryptic talk, it seems likely Momoa will have a very real chance to reprise the character.