While I loved the overall production, for me the choice of actors for several of the side characters actually made it feel like a more generic Hollywood action movie.
For me it had been better to pick less well-used actors than Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem etc. Just robbed it of some of the mystique I think.
Mid-price movies disappeared when streaming became a thing.
We either get low-budget stuff (10-20 million), mostly horror. Or movies that are huge gigantic blockbusters that MUST succeed.
The mid-price stuff is gone. The ones that have enough budget to make a director's vision come true, but not so much that it brings in people from The Company suggesting their pet things to be added.
I'm sure they're out there, but it just boggles my mind that someone would decide to go watch Dune or not based on say Jason Momoa having a few minutes on screen.
Although that's really only recognizable in hindsight. In 1984 Stewart was still a fairly obscure character actor who had minor parts in BBC shows like I, Claudius.
For me it had been better to pick less well-used actors than Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem etc. Just robbed it of some of the mystique I think.