Twiddling my thumbs waiting for some more cast announcements to come and then, just as I finished the dishes, I checked my phone and this massive thing had dropped. Josh Brolin is all lined up to play Gurney Halleck. I can’t believe how every announcement seems to trump the one before. He’s such a wonderful actor and I know Gurney’s supposed to be an ugly lump of a man but damn! Josh Brolin!

He absolutely nailed it as Thanos in Avengers : Infinity War and he’s been churning out quality roles all the way back to being a young pup in The Goonies! No Country for Old Men, anyone? A star turn as President Bush in W? I really liked him in that Labor Day opposite Kate Winslet, actually. I’ll even let him slide for being in Hollow Man which was atrocious. This is a wonderful addition to he cast. They’ll have to scar him up with the inkvine to give him a bit of an edge but I really think he’ll do brilliantly. They dirtied him up a bit for Deadpool so I don’t see why they can’t go the same way. Fun fact: he’s also close friends with his old co-star Javier Bardem. Gurney and Stilgar have quite a close bond in the book as two warriors so it will be nice to see how that works out on screen.

I am a little bit sad that I didn’t get my first choice for the role, Idris Elba, but hopefully there’s still room for him somewhere else.

I had a feeling something was coming. It’s been ages and there’s been nothing and then last night the IMDb listing started filling out with crew members.

There have been additions in the wardrobe and visual effects departments that could possibly give indications of the artistic direction of the film. Lots of people who have worked for the Director before are back again as is the case regularly in film making. Costume Design is being shared by Jacqueline West and Bob Morgan. Morgan has a varied back catalogue with plenty of fantasy/sci-fi work on films like Man of Steel, The Chronicles of Riddick, X-Men and Inception. Jacqueline West has a more down to Earth resume with work and has garnered 3 Academy Award nominations for her contributions to The Revenant, Quills and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The combination of these two talented people should help with what will be a vastly diverse set of wardrobe challenges, from aba robes and stillsuits to noble dress uniforms.

Villeneuve has added a very experienced 1st Assistant Director in the shape of Maidenhead-born Chris Carreras. Carreras has a massive amount of experience in this role. He was 1st AD on the first four Harry Potter films, various entries in the Bourne series, Paul Greengrass’ brilliant United 93. He also has Sci- Fi experience through Alien 3, Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element and even a 2nd AD credit on 1979’s Bond-in-Space outing, Moonraker. He sounds like someone with a wealth of experience and this strikes me as a great appointment.

So, more good news and probably just more and more of it to come on the horizon.

You can check out my other casting reactions, along with my original picks, below.

Fantasy Casting – Dune

Casting Dune – Javier Bardem initial reactions

Casting Dune- Zendaya initial reactions

Casting Dune – Oscar Isaac initial reactions

Casting Dune – Charlotte Rampling initial reactions

Casting Dune – Stellan Skarsgård initial reactions

Casting Dune – Dave Bautista initial reactions

Casting Dune – Rebecca Ferguson initial reactions

Casting Dune – Timothee Chalamet initial reactions

Thanks for reading,

Richard