Josh Brolin Says Linus Sandgren Replaced Greig Fraser On ‘Dune: Part Three’ As In-Demand DOP Is Busy With Sam Mendes’ ‘Beatles’ Biopics

There was a bit of a shakeup on Denis Villeneuve‘s “Dune: Part Three” as cinematographer Greig Fraser, who lensed the last two installments and won an Oscar for his work on the first movie, wouldn’t be returning for the third film (an adaptation of Frank Herbert‘s second novel “Dune Messiah“) and would be replaced by the equally talented Linus Sandgren (“Babylon”), who recently shot the upcoming “Jay Kelly” and also earned an Oscar statue himself back in 2017 for “La La Land.”

Franchise actor Josh Brolin is shedding some light on the switch-up as he revealed to host Kevin McCarthy on his YouTube podcast “On Films With Kevin McCarthy” that Fraser is going to be too busy shooting Sam Mendes‘ upcoming “Beatles” biopics (four movies in total), making it difficult to commit to another round with Villeneuve.

READ MORE: ‘Dune Messiah’: Denis Villeneuve Has Cast Paul & Chani’s Twin Children With Jason Momoa’s Son Playing Leto Atreides II

“It’s an interesting thing because I know [Greig Fraser] is doing Sam Mendes’ Beatles thing, the four Beatles movies. So, that’s a huge thing, that takes two years, and so he wasn’t able to do it. But you know [Denis Villeneuve] is such a close friend, you’re not going to hire someone you don’t jive with and isn’t going to do an amazing job,” Brolin said of the switch-up and trust involved as Villeneuve is VERY selective with his directors of photography.

Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan, and Joseph Quinn are set as the leads of Mendes’ biopics playing cinematic versions of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison.

With that said, “Dune: Part Three” is currently filming with a cast that features Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh, Zendaya, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, the return of Jason Momoa‘s Duncan Idaho from the dead, and Anya Taylor-Joy back as Paul’s grown sister, Alia Atreides. New additions to the franchise are Robert Pattinson, who is said to be playing a shapeshifting villain named Scytale (a Tleilaxu Face Dancer), alongside Nakoa-Wolf Momoa and Ida Brooke playing the twin children of Paul and Chani (who eventually become Empress Ghanima Atreides and God Emperor Leto Atreides II).

Warner Bros. has slated the sequel to be released on December 18, 2026, and as it stands will go head-to-head with Marvel‘s “Avengers: Doomsday,” but we have to assume one of those titles will shift by next year.

You can watch that full chat between Brolin and McCarthy below.