With director Denis Villeneuve's Dune now playing around the world and streaming for free on HBO Max, I recently got to speak with Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem about making the incredible movie. During the interview, Brolin and Bardem talked about what people would be surprised to learn about the making of Dune, if they think the story is more relevant now than when it was first published, when they realized they were part of a special film, and more.

Dune is based on the hugely influential sci-fi novel of the same name by Frank Herbert. In the film, we follow Timothée Chalamet's Paul Atreides, whose family inherits custody over the planet Arrakis (or the titular "Dune"), an unforgiving desert world that also hosts the only source of something known as melange, or "spice," the most valuable material in the known universe. Meanwhile, a plot is brewing against the Atreides from a rival family known as the Harkonnens, and the fate of Dune is eventually at stake, but Paul himself might be at the center of a long-foretold prophecy even he doesn't understand yet. The film also stars Oscar Isaac as Paul's father Duke Leto Atreides, Zendaya as Chani, Rebecca Ferguson as Paul's mother Lady Jessica, Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck, Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, Dave Bautista as Glossu 'Beast' Rabban, Charlotte Rampling as Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam, Javier Bardem as Stilgar, and Sharon Duncan-Brewster as Dr. Liet Kynes.

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Image via Warner Bros.

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As I have said many times, Villeneuve has crafted a sci-fi masterpiece with Dune and so far it’s my favorite film of the year. Everything about this movie is incredible. From Hans Zimmer’s amazing score to Greig Fraser’s stunning cinematography to Bob Morgan and Jacqueline West’s gorgeous costumes…the movie feels like they went to the other side of the galaxy and filmed what was really happening. I know we are in the middle of a pandemic and a lot of you do not feel safe going to a movie theater. But this is one of those films that absolutely should be seen on the biggest screen possible. I’m absolutely seeing it in IMAX as soon as I can.

Watch what Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem had to say in the player above and below is exactly what we talked about.

Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem

  • When did they both realize during the making of Dune that they were part of something special?
  • Do they think Dune is more relevant now than when it was first published?
  • What would people be surprised to learn about the making of Dune?
  • How Brolin and cinematographer Greig Fraser did a book together.
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Image Via Warner Bros. Pictures