Jason Momoa: Dune “set the bar for how I want my career to go”
By Dan Selcke
Jason Momoa, Timothée Chalamet, and the other stars of Dune talk up what to expect from this sci-fi epic, which sounds better every time we hear about it.
Dune, a star-studded adaptation of Frank Herbert’s hugely popular sci-fi novel, was one of the most anticipated movies of 2020…and then it was delayed because of the pandemic. As it stands, we won’t get to watch the adventures of Paul Atreides on the desert planet of Arrakis until this October, and that’s if nothing else goes wrong.
The deeply impressive cast is still out here hyping it though. Timothée Chalamet, who plays Paul, told WSVN in Miami that his character is going through “What all 15, 16, 17, 18 year olds go through, which is just that growing up is hard. There is a lesson and a metaphor in this movie for everyone.”
Of course, not all teenagers are chosen ones who have to ingratiate themselves with a desert-dwelling warrior people by riding a giant sandworm, but different strokes.
Zendaya plays a Chani, one of those desert-dwelling warrior people and Paul’s eventual love interest, although we probably won’t see their romance play out in full until the second movie — yes, the story is so big director Denis Villeneuve split it into two films. “She’s tough, you know,” said Zendaya. “She’s a warrior. She’s native to this planet. This is all she knows, so this other kid (Paul) coming in, she’s not really feeling it.”
Chani is a member of the Fremen people, who wear advanced stillsuits to make sure they can survive the unforgiving arid climate of the planet. “Once you wore them, you were free to move, and there was kind of a cool, fresh breeze inside the suit,” said Javier Bardem, who plays Fremen leader Stilgar.
Not everyone was so complimentary of the Dune fashions. “I didn’t get that model of suit,” quipped Oscar Isaac, who plays Paul’s father Duke Leto Atreides. Jason Momoa, who plays House Atreides swordmaster Duncan Idaho, added his own stray two cents: “Mine would hold a bowl of me like soup.”
In any case, Momoa describes Duncan as “Basically the greatest fighter in the [expletive] world.” He’s sounds very high on the movie and on his performance. “This film set the bar for how I want my career to go. I learned so much every day.”
As someone who headlines his own superhero movie series as Aquaman, not to mention playing Khal Drogo on Game of Thrones, that’s some tall talk, and makes us even more excited to see the movie.
Dune comes out in theaters and on HBO Max on October 1…hopefully.
Next. Dune 2020 has an embarrassment of stars—How well do they match their roles?. dark
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h/t Cinema Blend