Timothée Chalamet Teases New Project About Ping-Pong While Spoiling A Big Character Returning In ‘Dune: Messiah’

It’s not news to say that Timothée Chalamet is a fantastic young actor. His award-winning, acclaimed career thus far proves that point. But we’re at a place where every new Chalamet film is met with great glee from film fans and pundits alike. So, we’ve just seen him in “Wonka,” and everyone is greatly anticipating “Dune: Part Two,” but what’s coming next? Well, Chalamet is here to tease us as we move into the new year.

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2024

Speaking to MTV, Timothée Chalamet is asked what he has on his schedule as he approaches 2024. Obviously, we are still waiting for “Dune: Part Two,” but the first half of 2024 seems to be dominated by two projects he’ll be filming. One of which is the Bob Dylan biopic directed by James Mangold, which has been in development for years now. That’s clearly a film that will get people excited. But he’s also teasing something else. Something a bit… unique. It’s a ping-pong movie, apparently. 

“I got two great things [coming up]. One is the [Bob Dylan biopic] and the other is…I can’t say,” teased Chalamet. “But that’s in the eight-month stretch ahead.”

When pressed about the new, mystery project, he replied, “It’s ping-pong, I can say that.”

Obviously, an actor can’t bring up doing a ping-pong movie without a “Balls of Fury” reference, but when that film is mentioned, Chalamet said, “No, no, no, something way different.”

READ MORE: Denis Villeneuve Says He’s “More Happy” With ‘Dune: Part Two’ & A Script For A Potential ‘Dune: Messiah’ Film Is Almost Finished

Some people are trying to figure out what this could be. But it’s just unclear what this film project is. Hopefully, since cameras are clearly going to be rolling soon, we will get a formal announcement. Until then, let’s talk about another tease that Chalamet gave us in the interview.

**Spoilers ahead for “Dune: Messiah,” the book that is expected to be the basis of a third ‘Dune’ film, IF it gets made. Again, it’s not official, but it’s looking like it will happen, but you’ve been warned…**

“Dune: Part Two” is one of our most anticipated films of 2024 and for good reason. The first is an incredible film, winning a number of awards. The second film, based on the trailers, looks like it could actually be better. But a lot of discussion happening recently is about a possible third film, “Dune: Messiah,” based on the novel of the same name by Frank Herbert. 

It’s when Jason Momoa’s name is brought up in the discussion with Chalamet that the actor actually lets a fairly major spoiler slip about what could be a plot point in the third movie. For context, Momoa plays Duncan Idaho in the first ‘Dune’ film, a character who is beloved by fans of the novel for just being a badass warrior. Sadly, he’s killed in that first film. But it doesn’t sound as if he’ll be gone for good.

“But Momoa will be back,” said Chalamet. “Not in this one, but in [‘Messiah’].”

Obviously, if you’ve read ‘Messiah,’ you know this to be true. This is something that Chalamet talked about when he realized it might have been a spoiler.

“It’s weird because they’re so secretive about the script and the trailer, but [the books] have been out there for 70 years,” he said.

While I won’t go into detail about Duncan Idaho’s return, I’ll just say that it makes sense in the story and it’s probably not going to happen how you would expect it. But yes, if ‘Messiah’ happens, you can fully expect Momoa to play a fairly large role in that story. Frankly, a lot of ‘Messiah’ is going to shock people who haven’t read the book, so that’ll be fun to see. 

“Dune: Part Two” is arriving in theaters on March 1.