"Who can forget the stirring tale of Duke Leto the Just and his gal-lant men!"
Ol' Gurney Halleck was fond of belting out a tune in Frank Herbert's Dune novels, and was never unaccompanied by a fictional musical instrument known as a Baliset. Josh Brolin's take on the Atreides man-at-arms was originally going to play a song in the first movie, but the scene ended up being left on the cutting room floor.
Though it may not seem like a particularly important detail and has no bearing on the story, it is a nice little character trait, and fans of the books were looking forward to seeing Gurney strumming away on the big screen.
During an interview with Empire (via SFFGazette.com), director Denis Villeneuve revealed that, yes, we will see Halleck playing the Baliset in the second part of his sci-fi saga.
“The Gurney song survived Part Two!” declared the filmmaker. “It became a weird priority for me. But Josh Brolin is a poet and we played it together. It was awesome.”
Sir Patrick Stewart's version of Gurney from David Lynch's adaptation was barely in the movie, and still got a brief Baliset scene, so we're glad to hear Brolin's take on the character will get to follow suit.
The saga continues as award-winning filmmaker Denis Villeneuve embarks on Dune: Part Two, the next chapter of Frank Herbert’s celebrated novel Dune, with an expanded all-star international ensemble cast. The film, from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, is the highly anticipated follow-up to 2021’s six-time Academy Award-winning Dune.
The big-screen epic continues the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s acclaimed bestseller Dune with returning and new stars, including Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet (Wonka, Call Me by Your Name), Zendaya (Spider-Man: No Way Home, Malcolm & Marie, Euphoria), Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning), Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (Avengers: Endgame, Milk), Oscar nominee Austin Butler (Elvis, Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood), Oscar nominee Florence Pugh (Black Widow, Little Women), Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor: Love and Thunder), Oscar winner Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter,), Stephen McKinley Henderson (Fences), Léa Seydoux (James Bond, Crimes of the Future), with Stellan Skarsgård (Avengers: Age of Ultron), Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling (45 Years, Assassin’s Creed), and Oscar winner Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men, Being the Ricardos).
Dune: Part Two will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.