Dune vs Marvel: When Josh Brolin Compared The Wildly Different Worlds Of Filming & The Surprising Differences Behind The Scenes
Josh Brolin opens up about his experiences filming in the Marvel Cinematic Universe vs. Dune, revealing how the two franchises differ in their approach to storytelling, secrecy, and the filming process.
Josh Brolin contrasts filming experiences in Marvel and Dune ( Photo Credit – Facebook )
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Josh Brolin knew his way around blockbusters. He had been a part of both Dune and the Marvel Cinematic Universe – two of the biggest film franchises in recent years. But while they both delivered jaw-dropping visuals and massive fan followings, the way they were made? Completely different.
Brolin had played some major roles in Marvel. He first appeared as Thanos in Guardians of the Galaxy and then returned in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame to snap half the universe away. He also starred as Cable in Deadpool 2, bringing his gruff, time-traveling mercenary to life.
Then came Dune. Brolin took on Gurney Halleck, the battle-hardened mentor to Paul Atreides. Though his role in Dune wasn’t as dominant as Thanos, he still left an impact. But for Brolin, the experience of filming Dune versus Marvel? Like stepping into two different dimensions.
In an October 2021 interview with ComicBook.com, Brolin explained just how different these two filmmaking worlds felt.
“[They give you] everything,” he said. “There was none of that, and by the way, they did with Marvel also, the only thing with Marvel is once in a while, I started to pick up on why do they keep changing it when we get to the set? Because they would release pages to make you think it was one thing, and then you would change it and do it, that was annoying. But with Dune, it’s all out there, you have a book, you have source material, it’s kind of tough to hide it, even though it’s a very loyal adaptation, there’s some things that are changed, there’s some things that are ad-lib, there’s some things that are created for.”
Marvel kept secrets under lock and key. Fake scripts, last-minute rewrites – actors often had no idea what they were actually filming. But with Dune? The world was already built. The novel had been around for decades, so there were no surprises.
Then, there was the way both franchises looked.
With Marvel, actors stood in front of green screens, reacting to things that weren’t actually there. In Dune, they were in the world – real deserts, towering set pieces, physical landscapes.
Brolin’s future with Marvel was a question mark. Thanos was gone (or so it seemed), and Cable’s return was uncertain. But his role in Dune? That was locked in. His character’s fate had been left up in the air, but he confirmed he would return for Dune: Part Two.
For Marvel, everything had to be imagined. For Dune, it was right in front of him. Two wildly different filmmaking experiences – but Brolin had thrived in both.
