After playing Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Josh Brolin is no stranger to making blockbuster films. Just lately he played a prominent role in Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Dune, which is shaping up to be one of the biggest releases of 2021. When comparing his time as Gurney Halleck to his work on the superhero films, Brolin notes one significant difference.
While Brolin and his Marvel costars were constantly on high alert for changes during production of movies like Avengers: Endgame, Dune offered far fewer surprises. With source material that’s decades old, Brolin and his colleagues were able to learn about their characters simply by picking up Frank Herbert’s 1965 book.
Speaking to ComicBook.com, Brolin also noted there was far less need for secrecy. “Because would release pages to make you think it was one thing, and then you would change it and do it,” the actor said. “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.”
Unlike on Avengers: Endgame, there’s no reason to prevent spoilers on Dune
It’s no secret that Marvel Studios works hard to contain spoilers, even with a vast array of comics to draw material from. That’s no doubt tough for actors trying to get into character. Fortunately, their struggle doesn’t show up in the final cut. And when it comes to the end product, Brolin seems to appreciate both types of projects. “Both are equally fascinating and deserve a lot of focus, but very different,” he said.
Fortunately, we don’t need to choose which Brolin performance to watch. Dune is currently playing in theaters and streaming on HBO Max, and his Marvel performances can all be found on Disney+.
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