Because Denis Villeneuve opted to only adapt the first half of Frank Herbert’s original Dune novel for his Dune movie, there was concern in the months leading up to the sci-fi flick’s release over if the filmmaker would get the opportunity to adapt the second half. Well, mere days after Dune premiered both in theaters and on HBO Max, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures officially greenlit Dune 2, or Dune: Part Two, if you prefer. Among the actors who will be back for the upcoming movie are Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin, although ahead of filming this summer, these two have been joking about how they have some “work” to do first with their physiques.
Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin appeared in Dune as Stilgar and Gurney Halleck, respectively, with the former being the leader of the Fremen tribe at Sketch Tabr, and the latter being the House Atreides’ weapons master and one of the mentor’s to Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides. Brolin is particularly excited to tackle Dune 2, as evidenced by having his publicist make sure that the movie’s IMDB page listed him in the cast. However, during a visit to Live with Kelly and Ryan, the actor noted he he hasn’t been able to start getting in shape for Dune 2 because of a specific job that comes with raising young children, explaining:
I haven’t quite started working on it. I have a 1 year-old and a 3 year-old obviously and it’s like you eat, you’re not as driven. You have to eat to show them what to do. It’s a parental learning thing. My 3 year-old doesn’t want to eat so I’m like ‘You do it like this.’ And then I keep doing it, and then you have it make more food, and then this happens.
In the grand scheme of things, Josh Brolin making sure his children are eating trumps him getting into shape for Dune 2 right now, and I respect that prioritization. Still, with Gurney Halleck being such a formidable soldier and now finding himself in a precarious position after the collapse of House Atreides, Brolin will eventually need to start working out for the sequel, and so will Javier Bardem. After all, Stilgar will have a bigger role in Dune 2, and Bardem even requested that his character ride a sandworm. You can’t sit atop one of those beasts and not be properly fit.
Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin met up with each other at the 94th Academy Awards, as Dune was nominated for 10 Oscars and walked away with six of them among that night’s Academy Award winners. While chatting at the ceremony, the men realized they need to start their Dune 2 workout plans soon, with Brolin recalling:
We start in July, and now is the time. I was with Javier at the Oscars and Javier and I showed each other each other’s paunches. And we said ‘We have to get ready very quickly.’
Along with these two and Timothée Chalamet, Dune 2 will also see the return of Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Zendaya’s Chani (who will also have much more to do in the next movie), Stellan Skarsgård’s Baron Harkonnen and Dave Bautista’s Beast Rabban Harkonnen. While no newcomers have been officially confirmed yet, it’s been reported that Black Widow’s Florence Pugh entered talks to play Princess Irulan, and Elvis’ Austin Butler has been looked at to play Feyd-Rautha. Irulan’s father, Emperor Shaddam IV, is also expected to be an important character in the sequel, although there’s no word yet on who might be tapped for the role.
CinemaBlend will pass along whenever Dune 2 has kicked off principal photography, but you can at least mark down its release on October 20, 2023 for your theatrical calendars. This Dune franchise is also set to expand with an HBO Max prequel series called Dune: The Sisterhood, and Denis Villeneuve has expressed interested in rounding out his run on the property with a Dune: Messiah movie.
