Dune: What Happens To Josh Brolin's Gurney? (Book Story Explained)
Dune’s Gurney Halleck, played by Josh Brolin, defended the Atreides against the Harkonnens and the Sardaukar – but the movie never reveals what happens to Gurney after the attack. Gurney Halleck is the weaponmaster of House Atreides, and alongside the warrior Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa), Gurney is famous in Dune’s Known Universe as a fearsome warrior. Gurney first appears in Dune during a weapons training session with Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet), wherein the two demonstrate how personal shields work to protect the wearer against knives. When the House Harkonnen plot against the Atreides finally unfolded in the city of Arrakeen, Gurney was in the front lines of House Atreides’ defensive forces.
Save for Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard) taking control of the city, not much else is revealed about the aftermath of the attack on Arrakeen. Although Dune shows Gurney fighting fiercely alongside Atreides troops, the movie doesn’t show whether or not he lived. However, the book on which the movie was based could shine a light on Gurney’s fate.
Frank Herbert’s Dune doesn’t conclude Gurney’s story after the Harkonnen attack. In the book, Gurney Halleck gets disillusioned by how the Atreides were wiped out, not knowing that Paul and Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) survived and are somewhere in the deep desert. As a result, Gurney becomes a spice smuggler and even earns a name for himself, not only among his fellow criminals but in all of Arrakis. However, he is soon captured by the Fremen of Dune, who trap the smugglers with a hoard of fake spice. By this time, Paul has ascended to become a Fremen leader named Muad’Dib and recognizes Gurney among the smugglers they capture. Paul spares Gurney’s life and takes him back to their sietch. Believing that Jessica was somehow involved in the Harkonnen plot, Gurney tries but ultimately fails to kill Jessica. After it’s made clear to Gurney that Jessica is innocent of any betrayal, Gurney joins the Fremen and helps Paul ascend to the throne and become the new Emperor. All of this happens in the second part of the book, the basis for Villeneuve’s planned sequel, which means that Gurney could return.
Moreover, when Paul becomes the Emperor, he also makes Gurney the Earl of the planet of Caladan, the homeworld of the Atreides. While it’s unclear what rank an earl holds in Dune’s Imperium, it’s presumably equivalent to being a duke, which means that Paul gifts Gurney with the same rank that was once held by him and his father. Soon after, Gurney and Jessica become lovers. And while the two keep their relationship under wraps to avoid a public scandal, Gurney and Jessica work together to rule over Caladan. Gurney also becomes the Baron of Geidi Prime, the Harkonnen homeworld, in which he outlaws slavery, renames cities, and works with the locals to improve the planet’s ecology.
While the second half of Frank Herbert’s Dune will be tackled in Dune: Part Two, Villeneuve’s third movie will be based on Dune: Messiah, Herbert’s second book. This means that the Dune reboot will have plenty of opportunities to flesh out the full story of Gurney Halleck. Moreover, if the sequels do get released, Josh Brolin’s return to Dune will no doubt contribute to filling more seats in the theaters. In short, Josh Brolin is likely to return for the sequels, as Gurney Halleck’s story is far from over.