Former Dune Filmmaker Looking Forward to Denis Villeneuve’s Upcoming Film

Back in the ’70s, filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky was developing an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune, but the project ultimately fell apart and he was never able to bring his vision to life, though the director recently detailed that he’s actually looking forward to Denis Villeneuve‘s take on the story. Jodorowsky wasn’t quite as supportive of David Lynch’s adaptation of the material back in the ’80s, but the filmmaker detailed that offering an accurate representation of the source material is so difficult, he knows Villeneuve will have to take some liberties with the project, allowing Jodorowsky to approach it from a different perspective.

When IndieWire asked about whether he would be going to see Dune, the filmmaker claimed he would see it “with pleasure, because it will be different. It’s not the same.” He also admitted the difficulty of adapting the story, noting, “It’s impossible to do.”

While Jodorowsky’s adaptation of the story might never have moved into the actual production phase, the filmmaker compiled a massive book filled with concept art and images, many of which made their way into other productions that took place in subsequent years. The adaptation is so legendary that it was chronicled in the documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune. Lynch’s adaptation, for example, is said to have borrowed elements of Jodorowsky’s vision.

“The first time they said it was safe to do Dune, and [David Lynch] did it, I was ill, because it was my dream. They showed the picture in Paris, and my son said, ‘You need to see the picture.’ I was ill to do that. Ill,” the filmmaker admitted. “And then they start to show the picture, and step by step, I was so happy, so happy, so happy because it was a sh-tty picture. I realized, Dune, nobody can do it. It’s a legend.”

Lynch, on the other hand, isn’t at all interested in watching the new take on the material.

“I have zero interest in Dune,” Lynch confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. “Because it was a heartache for me. It was a failure and I didn’t have final cut. I’ve told this story a billion times. It’s not the film I wanted to make. I like certain parts of it very much — but it was a total failure for me.”

Dune is currently set to land in theaters on December 18th.

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