The Big Picture

Josh Brolin’s character Gurney Halleck returns in Dune: Part Two as a “desert rat” with long hair and a gruff demeanor.
Brolin loved the practicality of filming on location in the desert, which added to the authenticity of the movie.
Brolin trained for a sword-fighting scene in the film, despite being 55 years old, and successfully filmed it in one shot.

As we prepare to return to Arrakis in Denis Villeneuve’s sequel, Dune: Part Two, excitement is ramping up to see Paul Atreides’ (Timothée Chalamet) journey continue. Leading up to the film’s premiere in theaters, Collider’s Steve Weintraub is speaking with the cast about their favorite scenes, returning to the world of Frank Herbert’s bestselling novels, and more. In this interview, star Josh Brolin gives a little insight into his own character’s journey this time around.

Aptly cast, Brolin is General Gurney Halleck of House Atreides, a surly man whose loyalty to the family knows no bounds. In Dune, Brolin’s ferocity and care as Paul’s battle mentor earned him a place among them on Arrakis, where he admittedly had a harder time acclimating to the customs of the Fremen people. In Part Two, Paul and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), unite with the Fremen to enact revenge on the repulsive House Harkonnen, and the Muad’dib must make a choice between his love for Chani (Zendaya) and the fate of the Known Universe.

During their conversation, Brolin teases the state we find Gurney in when he finally reunites with the Atreides survivors, and how this reintroduction was inspired by a deleted scene and a baliset — something readers may have missed in the first film. He shares his love for Villeneuve’s dedication to filming on location and what it’s like training for a sword-fighting oner at his age. Brolin also teases why MCU fans won’t be seeing Cable in Deadpool 3, his directing contribution to Outer Range, and what fans of the Prime Video series can expect from Season 2. You can watch the full interview in the video above, or you can read the transcript below.

Dune: Part 2 also sees the return of Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Javier Bardem, and introduces Christopher Walken, Florence Pugh, and Austin Butler.

Dune: Part Two Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family.Release Date March 1, 2024 Director Denis Villeneuve Runtime 166 minutes Main Genre Sci-Fi Writers Frank Herbert , Jon Spaihts , Denis Villeneuve

Is Josh Brolin Returning as Cable in ‘Deadpool 3’?

Image via 20th Century

COLLIDER: I have to start with this one. Are you in Deadpool 3, and if not, why?

JOSH BROLIN: No. I don’t know. Because Ryan [Reynolds] doesn’t like me?

I don’t think that’s the reason.

BROLIN: I don’t know. Maybe.

Related Josh Brolin on ‘Deadpool 2’, Cable’s Origin and Drew Goddard’s ‘X-Force’ Movie Plus, he reveals when they’re filming ‘X-Force’, what he wants to see in the film, and if he was nervous to play Cable in four films.

This movie is incredible, and the first movie is incredible. What is it like when Denis calls you on the phone and says, “Listen, I want you to be part of Dune, but we’re actually gonna get on a spaceship and fly to Arrakis to film this?” Because I can’t be convinced you didn’t fly to the other side of the galaxy.

BROLIN: Literally. That’s how it felt. The hotel that we were staying in, we were surrounded by 100 kilometers of nothing but sand. There was no village, there was no place you could drive to. In two-and-a-half hours, you could get to Abu Dhabi. I love that he created that kind of practicality because I do think it lends to the movie. I think it lends to the kind of gruffness of what I was doing in it at least. I love it, personally. But yeah, it felt like you were on Arrakis. Yes, it did, Steve.

Image via Warner Bros.

My biggest complaint of the movie, and I told this to Denis, is that it’s not four hours. I would have been okay with another hour. So, in both movies, did you end up with a deleted scene or two that you were sad didn’t make the final cut?

BROLIN: Do you know the answer and you’re just setting me up?

No, I don’t know.

Josh Brolin Says Gurney Returns in ‘Dune: Part Two’ As a “Desert Rat”

Image via Warner Bros.

Denis told me there’s deleted scenes that I’ll never see.

BROLIN: There’s definitely a deleted baliset scene that he gave me the song the night before, and I did that. So I sang that in front of 30 guys, or [Jason] Momoa and that whole group, but it didn’t work. Tonally, it was wrong, and then we talked about it. He was like, “I don’t think I’m gonna use it.” And I was like, “That’s okay.” But given that we were doing two movies for one book, it gave you the space to be able to fit something else in and we found the place, and I think it’s the great way to reintroduce this character who’s become, like, this desert rat — he’s got long hair and he’s angry and he’s heartbroken and he hates where he is, and all that. I think it’s a great way to reintroduce him, which wasn’t necessarily planned. I was doing the song with Hans [Zimmer], and then we showed up on set and we reconfigured it because we were like, “This is the way to reveal him,” instead of what Denis had planned.

When you saw the shooting schedule for Part Two, what was the day that you had circled in terms of, “I cannot wait to film this,” or “Oh my god, we have to film this?”

BROLIN: The sword fight, because we wanted to do it in one. Denis wanted to do it in one, and I’m 55. And doing that when you’re 25, your recovery is quick, but doing that when you’re 55? I thought I was 25 in my head and then I started rehearsing it and I realized that it was gonna be a longer process. But in my panic, I pulled it off. I think we were more than ready when we finally did it. We did it in one shot even though there were three different angles, and I’m proud of that scene. Terrified.

Josh Brolin Steps Behind the Camera for ‘Outer Range’ Season 2

Image via Prime Video

While I have you, I am a fan of a certain Prime Video show that you do called Outer Range. When will I be seeing Season 2?

BROLIN: May.

What can you tease about Season 2 and how it compares to the first season?

BROLIN: This is what I’ll say, I was in a marketing meeting two days ago. We saw a couple of teasers for the entire season, because I directed one of the episodes, and I was very happy to do that. And it was a very exciting process for me.

Which episode?

BROLIN: Six. We have seven episodes. It looks like I wanted it to look the first season. It looks incredible, and I’m very, very happy with it. Not that I was totally disappointed with the first season, I just felt like we were finding ourselves, and I feel like we found ourselves now.

Image Via Amazon Prime Video

One of the things that Season 1 does is it introduces some sci-fi stuff and the mystery. With Season 2, is there more of the sci-fi mystery?

BROLIN: I think the character development is more, and I think you get answers for the sci-fi mystery that was created. Not necessarily all the answers, but you get destinations. I’ll put it that way. You get destinations.

Dune: Part Two premieres in the theaters on March 1.

Get Tickets