WIRE Buzz: Josh Brolin shows ‘ominous’ Dune set; Jason Isaacs' space documentary takes off

Whether it’s straining hard to disprove Avengers: Endgame fan theories or touring ancient and exotic movie locations in the Middle East, Josh Brolin is a guy who isn’t afraid of getting down and dirty with a little video DIY. And thanks to his quick trigger finger with the phone cam, now we have a neat early glimpse at one of the sand-strewn settings for the hugely anticipated Dune remake.

Brolin, who's playing Atreides family warmaster Gurney Halleck in the remake, shared a clip from the Dune set in Jordan, describing the evocative desert landscape at Wadi Rum (which Lawrence of Arabia made famous in the 1960s) as “peaceful, quiet, ominous” — and, as you can see below, beautiful. 

Brolin, one of several huge stars drawn to talent-magnet director Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming epic, has been on location in Jordan’s southern reaches to film scenes meant to capture the faraway and isolated planet of Arrakis, the setting for Frank Herbert’s sci-fi classic novel. He’s obviously in awe of his surroundings, as you can tell from a separate clip he posted while touring nearby Petra.

Filming on Dune began in March, with the movie slated for a late-2020 release. Joining Brolin in Villineuve’s all-star cast are Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy), Jason Momoa (Aquaman), Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible), Stellan Skarsgard (Thor), Charlotte Rampling (Red Sparrow), Javier Bardem (Skyfall), Oscar Isaac (Star Wars: Episode IX), Zendaya (Spider-Man: Far From Home), and Timothée Chalamet (Call me by your Name) as Paul Atreides.

From Star Trek: Discovery to the actual stars: Jason Isaacs, Cpt. Lorca on the CBS All Access hit, reportedly will be hosting a new sky-eyed docu-series that tackles the strange-but-true stories of humanity’s faltering first steps to venture beyond our own atmosphere.

Via Deadline, Isaacs and Britain’s Alaska TV have partnered to create Jason Isaacs: Space, described as “stories of skulduggery and war in space over the last 70 years.” Merging unscripted interviews and narration with dramatic recreations of events, the show reportedly will “feature stories from the U-2 to Reagan’s Star Wars, as well as the billionaire-funded space race featuring the likes of Elon Musk and Richard Branson,” all the way through the Trump Administration’s present-day effort to deploy a new Space Force military branch.

Isaacs, whose screen career already has taken him into orbit in Event Horizon, Armageddon, and Star Wars Rebels, told Deadline he thinks the real thing will turn out to be every bit as compelling as fiction. 

“I’ve been lucky enough to captain a Starship, fly through a black hole to hell and save the world from a giant asteroid. Mostly it’s gone wrong for me, of course, but fake space has been fun,” he said. “Luckily, because of the doors that have been open to me, I know that exploring the real people, the real secrets, the real space wars will be more incredible, more dramatic and more surprising than any story Hollywood can tell... I’ll be telling the stories you never normally hear and asking the questions that we all normally shout at the screen. What could possibly go wrong?”

The show’s still in the planing stages, so there’s no word yet on where or when it might land. 

Finally, more scares are on the way from Suspiria writer Dave Kajganich, who’s reportedly prepping the coming-of-age murder novel Bones & All for the big screen. 

Deadline reports Kajganich is adapting Camille DeAngelis’ slow-burning novel into a feature film that’ll be directed by Antonio Campos, who’s previously been attached to direct a still-in-development prequel to The Omen. Campos also directed "Cold Steel,” the eighth episode of Marvel’s The Punisher for Netflix. 

Bones & All follows a 16-year-old named Maren Yearly as she journeys across the country in search of her father, while struggling to get a handle on her murderous impulses. There’s no early word on casting or a release date, so stay tuned.