Josh Brolin Vows to 'Quit Acting' If “Dune: Part Two” Director Denis Villeneuve Isn't Nominated for Oscar
"If the Academy Awards have any meaning whatsoever, they’ll recognize him," the actor said
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Josh Brolin and Denis Villeneuve at the premiere of Dune: Part Two in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Feb. 18, 2024Josh Brolin is throwing his full support behind director Denis Villeneuve this awards season.
In an interview with Variety published Thursday, Nov. 21, the actor, who is promoting his memoir From Under the Truck, said of his Dune: Part Two director, "If he doesn’t get nominated [for an Oscar] this year, I’ll quit acting."
"It was a better movie than the first one," added Brolin, 56, of the sequel to 2021's Dune, which was released earlier this year and saw him reprise his role as Warmaster Gurney Halleck.
"When I watched it, it felt like my brain was broken open," Brolin continued of Dune: Part Two. "It’s masterful, and Denis is one of our master filmmakers. If the Academy Awards have any meaning whatsoever, they’ll recognize him.”
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From L: Anya Taylor-Joy, Souheila Yacoub, Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet, Denis Villeneuve, Austin Butler, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Florence Pugh and Léa Seydoux at the premiere of Dune: Part Two in New York City on Feb. 25, 2024Related: Dune: Part Two Cliffhanger Ending Explained: Will There Be a Third Film?
The Oscar nominations will be announced Friday, Jan. 17, and the ceremony is set for Sunday, March 2.
While Villeneuve didn't score a Best Director nomination at the 2022 Oscars for the first Dune, the movie was up for Best Picture. The filmmaker was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, alongside co-writers Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth, and Dune won six Oscars from a total of 10 nominations.
Villeneuve was nominated for Best Director in the past, for his 2016 sci-fi drama Arrival, which earned one Oscar win, for Best Sound Editing, from a total of eight nominations.
Dune: Part Two ends with Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) besting the emperor (Christopher Walken) and the Harkonnens and, with the Fremens’ help, launching the holy war across the universe that he had glimpsed in his spice-induced visions.
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Josh Brolin in Dune: Part Two (2024)Related: See Inside a New 'Dune' Book Featuring Poetry by Star Josh Brolin (Exclusive)
According to Villeneuve, wheels are turning for a third installment in the epic sci-fi franchise, based on the novels by Frank Herbert.
“I will say, there are words on paper,” Villeneuve, who also co-wrote the screenplay for Dune: Part Two, teased of a third movie during an interview with Empire in August.
"If I succeed in making a trilogy, that would be the dream," the filmmaker said.
Villeneuve also noted that if a third film did come to fruition it would be his final installment in the franchise, since following 1969's Dune Messiah, "the books become more … esoteric."
From Under the Truck is available now wherever books are sold.
