Timothée Chalamet kneed Jason Momoa in the groin during the filming of one scene from Dune. Chalamet will play Paul, heir to the House Atreides and the central figure of the story, while Momoa plays Duncan Idaho, the right-hand man to Paul's father, Duke Leto, and a Swordmaster of the Ginaz. Dune will follow Paul and the rest of House Atreides as they take stewardship over the planet Arakkis, aka Dune, an inhospitable, but coveted planet that is the only home to an important resource in the universe, the Spice Melange. Spice allows for longterm space travel and heightened mental abilities, making it an especially valuable tool for those who lord over the planet and the universe.
The previous stewards of Arakkis, House Harkonnen, are part of a vast conspiracy against House Atreides, sending Paul's family into turmoil and kicking off the events of the film. Dune is currently slated for release in theaters and on HBO Max on October 22, nearly a year after its original December 2020 release date. The film will only adapt the first half of Frank Herbert's seminal science-fiction novel and a Part 2 is expected to complete the rest of the story. It's unclear at what point of the novel Dune will end, but trailers for the film have indicated that Paul will become enmeshed with the desert-dwelling Fremen during the course of the film, leading to an all-important reunion with Duncan at some point in the movie.
With Duncan and Paul's relationship being so important to the story, the chemistry between Momoa and Chalamet is key to the film. Luckily, Momoa says the two bonded like brothers on the set of the film, throwing around jokes and jabs at each other. At one point, one of those jokes led Chalamet to knee Momoa in the groin while they were filming a scene, a shot that Momoa says actually makes it into the film. Read Momoa's story (from Total Film) in full below:
[Chalamet’s] like a little brother. He’s so intelligent. He’s something else to watch. He’s such a beautiful actor and considerate. He cares about his craft way more than I do. It’s just impressive to be around people like that.
That joke [about muscles in the trailer] came from me. There are these outtakes where I went up to Timmy, and I go, "Look at you, dick and ribs." Denis comes up and says, "What is this talk about the ribs and his dick? I don’t understand." I’m like, "Well, it’s funny, because Timmy’s so skinny." He’s like, "OK. Maybe you can do it in another way?" But Timothée [got me back]. When I hug him he kneed me in the balls so hard! You can see it if you watch in slo-mo.
The first trailer for Dune ignited some controversy when many felt that it wasn't colorful or fun enough. The second trailer seemed to fight back against that controversy with more colors and several light-hearted quips. One of those involves Momoa and Chalamet, with Duncan telling Paul that he has "put on some muscle." When Paul questions this, looking at his arms and asking, "I did?" Duncan replies with a curt, "No." Still, this humorous moment underscores a much more important relationship that will be at play in the movie.
Right before their funny exchange, Paul confides in Duncan about his dreams concerning Arakkis, clearly showing that their relationship goes beyond the surface level. Similarly, in another trailer, Duncan can be seen reuniting with Paul in the desert and calling him "My lord duke." Duncan's dedication to Hosue Atreides is clear and, if Villeneuve gets to make Dune: Part 2 and future sequels, that relationship will be fleshed out even further. Until then, audiences will have to wait until Dune hits theaters in October to see the beginning of the pair's friendship and maybe they'll even catch a glimpse of when Chalamet knees Momoa in the groin.
Source: Total Film
