Josh Brolin Will ‘Quit Acting’ If ‘Dune 2’ Director Is Not Nominated For Oscar

Josh Brolin is throwing his full support behind director Denis Villeneuve this awards season.

In an interview with Black published on Thursday, November 21, the actor promoting his memoirs From under the trucksaid of his Dune: Part Two director, “If he doesn’t get nominated (for an Oscar) this year, I’ll stop acting.”

“It was a better movie than the first,” Brolin, 56, added of the sequel to 2021’s Dunewhich was released earlier this year and saw him reprise his role as warlord Gurney Halleck.

“When I saw it, it felt like my brain was broken open,” Brolin continued Dune: Part Two. “It’s masterful, and Denis is one of our master filmmakers. If the Oscars mean anything, 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 February 25, 2024.

Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Warner Bros.


The Oscar nominations will be announced on Friday, January 17, and the ceremony is set for Sunday, March 2.

While Villeneuve did not earn a Best Director nomination at the 2022 Oscars for the first one Dunethe film was nominated for best picture. The filmmaker was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay along with co-writers Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth, and Dune won six Oscars out of a total of 10 nominations.

Villeneuve was previously nominated for best director for his 2016 sci-fi drama Arrivalwhich earned one Oscar win, for Best Sound Editing, from a total of eight nominations.

Dune: Part Two ends with Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) ascending the Emperor (Christopher Walken) and the Harkonnens and, with the help of the Fremen, launching the holy war across the universe that he had seen in his spice-induced visions.

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Josh Brolin in Dune: Part Two (2024).

Warner Bros. Pictures


According to Villeneuve, the wheels are turning for a third installment in the epic sci-fi series, based on novels by Frank Herbert.

“I would say there are words on paper,” Villeneuve, who also co-wrote the screenplay to Dune: Part Two, teased by a third film during an interview with Empire in August.

“If I manage to make a trilogy, that would be the dream,” said the filmmaker.

Villeneuve also noted that if a third film were to materialize, it would be his last installment in the franchise since post-1969 Dune Messiah“the books are becoming more … esoteric.”

From under the truck is available now wherever books are sold.