When Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune hits the big screen, the signs all point to it being the rich, satisfying cinematic version that fans have long, long been waiting for. But he’s far from the first filmmaker to attempt to bring Herbert’s worlds and characters to life on the screen. Alejandro Jodorowsky famously tried, though his wild version never took flight (as chronicled in documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune). The legendary David Lynch had more luck, in that his 1984 film starring Kyle MacLachlan and Sting did see the light of day – though it flopped financially, Lynch didn’t have final cut and tried to disown the film, and the filmmaker still sees it as a failure.
Speaking to Empire in the world-exclusive Dune issue, it seems Villeneuve is fonder of Lynch’s film than Lynch himself – though he still saw a reason to attempt his own version. “I’m a big David Lynch fan, he’s the master,” Villeneuve said. “When I saw [Lynch]’s Dune I remember being excited, but his take… there are parts that I love and other elements that I am less comfortable with. So it’s like, I remember being half-satisfied. That’s why I was thinking to myself, ‘There’s still a movie that needs to be made about that book, just a different sensibility.’”
Meanwhile, Lynch spoke recently to Deadline and brought up Dune again, claiming that he “died two times” with the film – in that it was neither a commercial or critical hit, or a movie that he is personally proud of. “With Dune, I sold out on that early on, because I didn’t have final cut, and it was a commercial failure, so I died two times with that,” he said.
Read Empire’s world-exclusive Dune issue when it hits shelves this Thursday, 3 September – going on set to Arrakis and beyond, and talking to Villeneuve, Chalamet, Zendaya, Isaac, Momoa, Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson and more. There are two covers to collect, the first featuring House Atreides, and the second featuring The Fremen. Dune is expected in UK cinemas from 18 December.