Dune: Part Three‘s script gets a promising update from Josh Brolin, who addresses his character’s role in the upcoming movie. After the mᴀssive success of the first and second installments in Denis Villeneuve’s take on Frank Herbert’s Dune, a threequel was quick to be announced.
Timothée Chalamet will return to lead the Dune: Part Three cast as Paul Atreides, with Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Florence Pugh, and Jason Momoa all expected to return. The film, which is currently in production, is expected to hit theaters next December.
During a recent interview on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, Brolin hypes the Dune: Part Three script, saying it’s “super good.” Check out his comment below:
“I have. It’s very good. It is. It’s very good. It’s super good.”
When Horowitz points out that Brolin’s character, Gurney Halleck, plays a very minor role in Herbert’s Dune: Messiah, Brolin suggests he will have a smaller role this time around, pointing out that he’s currently not on location filming with the rest of the cast:
Yeah, in the movie, too. Oh, no. No, I’m in it. I am. Yeah. I’m not there right now. Okay. I’ve gotten texts by people who are also in it who apparently haven’t read the script or only read their parts, which I don’t understand ’cause that’s why I reached out to Denis.
I was like, why are all these people think, like, “Hey, are you here yet? Are we going to go to the bath house in Budapest?” I’m like, “Dude, read the script. Like, do your job.”
Brolin also touches on how the third film wraps up the saga, teasing that it will serve as a satisfying finale:
Oh, in a big way. In a big big way. And I just talked to, you know, one of the heads of Warner Brothers and they’re very, very excited and in a visceral way. It’s good. Yeah. I said something like, “I heard dailies are really good.” And he goes, “How do you know?” And I was like, “‘Cause I know.”
What This Means For Dune: Part Three
Brolin played a relatively prominent role in the first two Dune movies, with Gurney serving as Paul’s mentor. In the second film, he makes a triumphant return to lead a ground ᴀssault against the House Harkonnen.
Herbert’s Messiah, however, takes place 12 years after the events depicted in the Dune: Part Two ending, and Gurney plays a less active role as the story remains focused on Paul as ruler. Messiah, tonally and in terms of its story, is quite different from the first book, raising a number of questions about exactly how Villeneuve will be adapting it.
Villeneuve’s Dune and its sequel adapt the events of Herbert’s first book, with Messiah serving as the author’s follow-up.
It’s possible the filmmaker will be making substantial changes to the source material to make Dune: Part Three feel like more of an epic conclusion to the saga. The fact that Gurney plays a smaller role in the movie, however, does suggest that Villeneuve will still be adhering to the novel in at least some ways.
Outside of Gurney’s role, though, Brolin’s comments about the third film’s script are a promising sign that the movie will deliver in terms of quality. Dune: Part Two was critically acclaimed and a box office hit, and it has evidently set expectations high for the conclusion to Paul’s story.
Our Take On Brolin’s Dune: Part Three Tease
Gurney may not be as important as characters like Paul and Chani, but Brolin played him exceptionally well, and the dynamic between Gurney and Paul serves as an interesting window into Paul’s evolution as a leader. It’s a shame that Gurney will play a smaller role in the next movie, but Messiah evidently makes some interesting story changes.
Messiah feels like a less traditional sci-fi adventure story, raising questions about how audiences will react to Villeneuve’s next installment. After the first two movies, however, the franchise is evidently in good hands, and Brolin’s comments only make Dune: Part Three even more exciting.
