While talking to Ellen DeGeneres from some sort of weird, basement cave with an assortment of odd trinkets, Jason Momoa had a lot to say about his upcoming role in Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Dune.
The sci-fi epic features an all-star cast that includes Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, and Dave Bautista, all of whom Momoa was blown away to work with. You’d think his star turn in Aquaman would’ve prepared him for filming this latest blockbuster, but Momoa says he’s “never been a part of something so big.” Here’s more of his ravings:
“I get to play this character Duncan Idaho, who’s kind of a master swordsman who’s made the right-hand man to Duke Leto who is Oscar Isaac,” the actor explained. “He’s the first person to be sent out to land on Dune and that’s when I meet the character that Javier Bardem plays. I can’t believe I had a scene with Javier Bardem! It’s a pretty massive film and I get to be this little — he’s kind of the Han Solo-esque of the group. He’s this rogue warrior who protects Timothée Chalamet (Paul Atreides) and serves Oscar Isaac.”
You can watch the full interview from the Momoa-Cave below or jump straight to the Dune stuff at the 8:13 mark:
According to a recent Vanity Fair feature that featured a smoldering look at Oscar Isaac that triggered all kinds of thirst traps on Twitter, filming for Dune took place in the United Arab Emirates to capture the dust planet of Arrakis. But while Momoa apparently had a blast, Chalamet wasn’t entirely thrilled with the over 100 degrees temperature. “They put a cap on it out there, if it gets too hot. I forget what the exact number is, but you can’t keep working,” the young actor told Vanity Fair. “In a really grounded way, it was helpful to be in the stillsuits and to be at that level of exhaustion.”
Dune arrives in theaters on December 18.