Josh Brolin still hasn’t received the script for ‘Dune: Messiah’.
The 56-year-old actor starred opposite Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, and Rebecca Ferguson as House Atreides War Master Gurney Halleck in director Denis Villeneuve’s first two instalments of the sci-fi saga, and has now admitted he was expecting to receive the script for ‘Dune: Messiah’ “a few weeks ago” but is still empty-handed.
When Forbes asked Brolin about an update on the movie, the ‘Avengers: Endgame’ star said: “So, I really look forward to being able to continue. We haven't gotten a script yet.
“We were supposed to get a script a couple of weeks ago, but, you know, that happens and I'll see what we're doing. I’d be excited to do any of it.”
‘Dune: Messiah’ will be based off author Frank Herbert’s 1969 sci-fi novel of the same name, which follows Paul Atreides (Chalamet) 12 years into his reign as the Emperor of the Known Universe as the religious cult he created around himself begins to spiral out of his control.
After releasing ‘Dune: Part Two’ - which also starred Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, Dave Bautista, Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgard and Anya Taylor-Joy - Villeneuve announced he would be taking a break from the sci-fi franchise to work on other projects, though later found himself picking the pen back up much sooner than he thought he would.
The ‘Blade Runner: 2049’ director told Deadline: “Let’s say that I thought that after ‘Part Two’ that I will take a break, that I will go back in the woods and stay in the woods for a while to recover. But the woods weren’t really suiting me, and I would go back behind the camera faster than I think. But that’s all I can say.”
Villeneuve revealed he was “in the writing zone right now” for the upcoming blockbuster, though made an effort not to call the film ‘Dune: Part Three’.
He explained the first two films felt like “one entity” to him, and before adding: “It’s a movie made in two parts. It’s finished, it’s done.”
While he wanted to do justice to Herbert’s work, the ‘Sicario’ director emphasised he also wanted to “do something completely different” with his cinematic take on ‘Dune: Messiah’.
He explained: “Like Herbert did with 'Dune: Messiah’, I think it’ll be a great idea to do something completely different. The story takes place like 12 years after where we left the characters at the end of ‘Part Two’.
“Their journey, their story is different this time, and that’s why I always say that while it’s the same world it’s a new film with new circumstances.”
Villeneuve concluded ‘Dune: Messiah’ - which is slated to release at some point in 2026 - “will finish the Paul Atredies arc” in a tragic story of love and betrayal.
