Jodorowsky's Dune: Why The "Greatest Film Never Made" Still Can't Be
TheSpiceDAO's recent acquisition of the production "bible" for Alejandro Jodorowsky's interpretation of Dune has made headlines, but the film that has long fascinated movie and sci-fi fans is still very unlikely to be made. An experimental and surrealist Chilean director, Jodorowsky attempted to make a Dune adaptation in the 1970s whose mind-boggling ambition is still an obsession of many. Recently, a cryptocurrency-based company called TheSpiceDAO purchased a rare pitch book at an auction for $3 million dollars, and have stated that they plan to make a version of Dune in line with Jodorowsky's vision. However, this is not how movie rights work.
Jodorowsky's Dune was a grand design that would have resulted in a ten-hour feature film. The director planned to cast his son Brontis as Paul Atreides, the role played by Timothee Chalamet in the 2021 Dune, with the cast also including surrealist artist Salvador Dali as Shaddam IV, Orson Welles as Baron Harkonnen, David Carradine as Duke Leto, and Mick Jagger as Feyd-Rautha. Other creative forces meant to be involved were Pink Floyd, visionary French science fiction artist Moebius, and future Alien designer H. R. Giger. After going over budget even in pre-production, the sprawling scope of the project made backers pull out, and the rights were sold to Dino De Laurentis, who eventually made the 1984 Dune film directed by David Lynch. (It is a sign of how surreal Jodorowsky's vision was that Lynch was seen as the safer choice.) However, Jodorowsky's Dune has intrigued fans and critics ever since, becoming the subject of a 2013 documentary.
RELATED: Why Dune's Sequels Need To Reverse The First Movie's Best Death Scene
SpiceDAO acquired the pitchbook, but not the adaptation rights
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