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This article contains spoilers for Dune: Part Three and several Frank Herbert books.
It’s not really about Paul Atreides. Paul may be Lisan al-Gaib, he may be the Kwisatz Haderach, but Paul is not actually the main character of the Dune franchise. Instead, that honor goes to the character introduced in the latest trailer for Dune: Part Three, the character you knew as Duncan Idaho.
The latest trailer shows the internal fractures in Paul’s (Timothée Chalamet) life as he continues the Fremen jihad launched after he dethroned Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken) at the end of the previous movie. His partner Chani (Zendaya) feels betrayed by his actions and his legal wife, Shaddam IV’s daughter Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) joins the plot that the Face Dancer Scytale (Robert Pattinson) launches against him. Central to this conspiracy is the introduction of the man we first met as Duncan Idaho, played by Jason Momoa. Despite what he appears to be, this man is actually called Hayt, and he is the most important character in Frank Herbert‘s Dune novels.
With his incongruous name and skill in battle, Duncan Idaho was one of the standout characters of the first Dune movie. Played by a chummy Momoa, Duncan went ahead to scout Arrakis for Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac), where he befriended Stilgar (Javier Bardem) of the Freman and formed alliances that would allow Paul to defeat the usurper Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård). However, when Harkonnen’s forces first attacked and killed Leto, Duncan sacrificed himself to allow Paul and his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) to escape, setting into motion his final ascension as Lisan al-Gaib.
Although the world of Dune is full of dissemblances and secrets, Duncan’s death was not faked. He did indeed die battling Harkonnen’s elite Sardaukar. But as viewers of the HBO series Dune: Prophecy already know, cloning exists in the franchise. An invention of the Bene Tleilax (a sect like the Bene Gesserit, except they work through technology instead of religion), clones or “gholas” are a mistrusted, but real part of the world. Yet, if someone was lonely enough, if someone missed the person who had been cloned and wants to recreate those experiences, then they may accept the gholas, despite their misgivings.
Which is exactly what Scytale plans. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, who co-wrote the screenplay with comic book scribe Brian K. Vaughan, and based on the 1969 novel Dune Messiah, Dune: Part Three sees Paul start to crack under the pressure of enacting his master plan. While his prescience convinces him that brutal measures are needed to save humanity, others doubt him, which makes Paul feel lonely. Enter Scytale, who preys on that loneliness by bringing back the man who once loved and protected Paul, who provided the direction and security who so desperately wants.
But Hayt is not Duncan. He’s been trained as a Mentat, a mental computer like Thufir Hawat (Stephen McKinley Henderson) and Piter De Vries (David Dastmalchian). In this role, Hayt offers advice to Paul, including the advice to destroy him immediately. Hayt is one of the most compelling parts of Dune Messiah, and the trailer promises that he’ll be a key part of the adaptation.
The trailer also positions Dune: Part Three as the end of Villeneuve’s story, but that still leaves four more Herbert books left to adapt. And if Villeneuve or another filmmaker (potentially Gareth Edwards) wants to pick up Children of Dune or God Emperor of Dune, Part Three will leave them in a good spot, because Duncan returns as a major character there, too.
Set nine years after Messiah, Children of Dune sees a Duncan ghola paired with Paul’s sister Alia (Anya Taylor-Joy) and protecting Leto II and Ghanima, the children of Paul and Chani. The next book, God Emperor of Dune, jumps 3500 years in the future. And yet, Duncan’s still around, serving the Atreides line like he always has, while trying to recover the memories of his previous forms. Set 1500 years after God Emperor, Heretics of Dune has all-new Bene Gesserit and Bene Tleilax and revelations about the spice; and yet, there’s Duncan Idaho, running around as a ghola once again. There’s no time jump for Chapterhouse: Dune, but there is a sexy offshoot of the Bene Gesserit, so of course a Duncan Idaho ghola is involved.
Duncan is never the protagonist of these books. But he exists forever as a reminder of the innocence young Paul once held, the good intentions that drive him, even as he brings destruction to the universe and drives away everyone who loves him.
Dune: Part Three comes to theaters on December 18, 2026.
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