Josh Brolin reacts to Denis Villeneuve’s Oscars snub after claims he’d ‘retire’ if Dune 2 director ignored

‘Apparently, I am going to quit acting,’ the star said

Josh Brolin has reacted to Denis Villeneuve being shut out of the Oscars race for best director for another year, after claiming he would quit acting if it happened twice.

The Academy failed to nominate Villeneuve for Dune: Part Two after leaving him out of the best director category in 2022 for the first Dune film.

Dune earned 10 Oscar nominations in different categories on the year of its release, with Dune: Part Two earning just five nominations in 2025. You can see the full list of this year’s Oscar nominations here.

Speaking to his three million followers on Instagram, Brolin said: “Just want to say congratulations on the Dune best picture nomination, to Greig Fraser on cinematography, for best visual effects, for Patrice [Vermett] on production design and for sound.

“Apparently, I am going to quit acting because Denis Villeneuve didn’t get nominated. This is just how this thing works. It makes no sense to me. That’s OK.”

He continued: “[Editor] Joe Walker and Denis, you deserve it. It’s an amazing film. It was even better than the first one. The people who have gotten accolades surely deserve it. Happy to be a part of it. Congrats everyone.”

Brolin has long urged the Academy to acknowledge Villeneuve, telling Variety last year: “If he doesn’t get nominated this year, I’ll quit acting,” Brolin said.

Josh Brolin and Denis Villeneuve (Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures)

“It was a better movie than the first one. When I watched it, it felt like my brain was broken open. It’s masterful, and Denis is one of our master filmmakers. If the Academy Awards have any meaning whatsoever, they’ll recognize him.”

After Villenueve’s snub in 2022, the actor - who plays Gurney Halleck in the franchise - fumed at the Academy: “I don’t know how you get 10 nominations and then the guy who has done the impossible with that book doesn’t get nominated.

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“It makes you realise that it’s all amazing and then it’s all f***ing totally dumb. So congratulations for the amazing accomplishments that these incredibly talented people have been acknowledged for, because it’s all really, really dumb.”

Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Timothee Chalamet, Denis Villeneuve, Florence Pugh and Zendaya at the ‘Dune: Part Two’ premiere in Mexico (AP)

Spider-Verse producer Chris Miller also expressed his shock at Villenueve’s snub after Oscar nominations were announced on Thursday (23 January). “There were many films that had great directing this year but what Denis did – in all aspects of the craft – was masterful,” he wrote on X/Twitter.

You can read The Independent’s list of the eight biggest snubs and surprises from this year’s Oscar nominations here.