David Lynch Hates His ‘Dune’ So Much — And Here’s Why – Armessa Movie News

Frank Herbert’s beloved science fiction novel Dune was essentially the Lord of the Rings of space operas. While it obviously boasted a rich mythology, memorable characters, and a story that had the potential to make a great film or franchise, the pressure of bringing such beloved material to the big screen was almost unfathomable. The Dune novel series already had an extensive fan base that knew the different planets, worlds, and languages quite well, and any director who approached the material was going to be facing an uphill battle. Denis Villeneuve‘s Dune from 2021 starring Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, and Timothée Chalamet was a massive success, and a sequel is on its way. However, David Lynch took a stab at Herbert’s world in 1984. It wasn’t just fans who were disappointed in Lynch’s box-office bomb — it seems like the only person who hated 1984’s Dune more than die-hard Herbert readers was Lynch himself.

David Lynch Was an Odd Choice To Direct ‘Dune’

Of all the possible directors that could have been tasked with creating the first Dune adaptation, Lynch was a very odd choice. Even during the early stages of his career, Lynch had established a reputation for creating stories about oddballs and outcasts, and incorporated intense surrealist themes within his work. However, in the wake of the success of his debut feature Eraserhead and his Academy Award-nominated work on the emotional biopic The Elephant Man, studios began considering whether Lynch had what it took to bring an expensive science fiction epic to life.

After turning down George Lucas’ request to direct Return of the Jedi when The Empire Strikes Back director Irvin Kershner decided not to helm the third installment in the original Star Wars trilogy, Lynch was approached by Universal Pictures to direct Dune. He wasn’t the first auteur filmmaker who considered working on Herbert’s beloved novel series. A decade prior, the surrealist Chilean filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky attempted to create a wild Dune adaptation that would have included the music of Pink Floyd and Orson Welles as Baron Harkonnen. While Jodorowsky’s version of Dune was hardly based on the original source material at all, Lynch found himself genuinely inspired by the unique world-building within the novel.

Lynch found himself “knocked out” upon finishing the novel for the first time, and stated that while he “wasn’t crazy” about popular science fiction epics like the Star Wars franchise that was popular at the time, he felt that “Dune was different” because “it had believable characterizations and depth.” Lynch went on to proclaim that “in many ways, Herbert had created an internal adventure, one with a lot of emotional and physical textures.” Bringing Dune to life became his new obsession; after working on an extensive drafting process with co-writers Eric Bergren and Christopher De Vore, Lynch ditched his collaborators in order to focus on his definitive version of the story. In both Lynch and Universal Pictures’ eyes, Dune would be the first installment in a new blockbuster franchise.

‘Dune’ Was a Very Difficult Production for David Lynch

Unfortunately, the ambitions that Lynch had for Dune were not exactly what Universal Pictures had in mind. As any fan of Lynch knows, the surrealist artist has a unique style that cannot be emulated (although many have tried and failed). Lynch’s movies are often surreal, shocking, and defy traditional logic. These aren’t necessarily the same qualities that general audiences look for in a sci-fi action adventure film marketed as the next version of Star Wars. When Lynch approached Universal Pictures with his three-hour cut of Dune, the studio took the film away from him to develop a more streamlined cut that removed some of the weirder elements.

Lynch would later state that he “knew when I was signing the contract that I was signing away final cut and from that moment I felt like, looking back, I started selling out.” Lynch admitted that while he was intrigued by the potential of utilizing a larger budget on a genre outside of his comfort zone he “probably shouldn’t have done that picture,” He said that while he “saw tons and tons of possibilities for things I loved, and this was the structure to do them in,” he had no interest in seeing Denis Villenueve’s new version.

The Studio Got in the Way of David Lynch’s ‘Dune’

The version of Dune that hit theaters was a hackneyed combination of Lynch’s version and studio-mandated scenes that didn’t reflect what either party wanted. It was a situation similar to the controversy surrounding 2017’s Justice League and the conflicting styles of Joss Whedon and Zack Snyder. The film drew the ire of both critics and audiences, guaranteeing that Lynch would never get the chance to return to Herbert’s material for a sequel or continuation. At the time of its release, Dune was one of the biggest box-office bombs in the history of the sci-fi genre. In the documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune, Jodorowsky proclaimed that he had been overjoyed by Lynch’s misfortune, as it signaled to him that the source material was unadaptable and that he hadn’t personally failed when his version failed to take off.

RELATED: One of David Lynch’s Best Movies Is Also the Most Un-Lynchian Film Possible

While it’s unlikely that Lynch would ever be able to capture the footage that he needed in order to create a director’s cut, he hinted as recently as last year that it’s not an idea that is out of the question. Lynch is known for reworking his films and has released edited versions of Inland Empire and Lost Highway. He revealed that while it’s “not like there’s a bunch of gold in the vaults waiting to be cut and put back together,” the prospect of releasing a director’s cut “might be interesting; there could be something there.”

Despite the toxic reputation that Lynch’s Dune has, it was an important project for him to work on. Not only did it serve as his first collaboration with Kyle MacLachlan, who he would go on to work with on Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks, but it inspired him to step away from ever working on massive studio tentpole projects. Had Lynch not failed in his attempt to court mainstream audiences with Dune, the world may never have experienced such masterpieces as Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive.