Last month, you may have seen some chatter around the casting of the two young actors playing Leto II and Ghanima, the twin children of Paul Atreides and Chani, in the upcoming Dune: Part Three.
© Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection
As far as we know, Dune: Part Three will follow the events of Frank Herbert’s second Dune novel, Dune: Messiah.
For context, Paul and Chani are portrayed by Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya in Denis Villeneuve’s film adaptations. And at the time of the casting reveal, there was much praise for the fact that the filmmaker did a damn-good job of finding two teens who look like they could actually be Timmy and Zendaya’s biological kids — which is funny, given that one of the young stars already has very famous parents.
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In case you missed it, Nakoa-Wolf Momoa — who will star as Leto II alongside Ida Brooke as Ghanima — is the 16-year-old son of Jason Momoa and Lisa Bonet.
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Of course, Jason also appeared in Dune: Part One as Duncan Idaho back in 2021, and will be reprising the role in Dune: Part Three. However, speaking at the premiere for his new Apple TV+ series, Chief of War, over the weekend, Jason was keen to emphasize that his son landed the part all by himself.
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“He did it on his own. I didn’t want to help him, and he’s done it all on his own,” Jason told Extra TV after being asked about the Dune casting. “I couldn’t do what he’s doing at his age. There’s no way I could sit in a room with Denis Villeneuve and hold my own. I was on Baywatch at 19. He’s 16 and he’s holding his shit down with Denis Villeneuve.”
Despite praising his son’s confidence and work ethic, Jason did joke that Nakoa-Wolf is in for “a rude awakening” when he sees what really goes into moviemaking. “[He’s] into the workforce for the first time. It’s gonna be good,” he added.
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In another red carpet interview with Entertainment Tonight, Jason also joked that his son is gonna be “way better” than him, which is exactly “what you want for your children.” “This kid…I [was] like, ‘No, no, you can’t act. No, no no,’ and then he did it all on his own,” the dad of two gushed. “He’ll be a force.”
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Shooting for Dune: Part Three is reported to be starting very, very soon, so it sounds like these two have got a fun father-son trip in store. LMK your thoughts on the casting below.
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