10 Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made
5. Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Dune
In terms of feature films, Dune is one of the most infamous. The first Dune film was directed by David Lynch in 1984, but he hated it so much, he took his name off it, making it an "Alan Smithee" film. Over the years, it has been further adapted, but not every adaptation was finalized.
Alejandro Jodorowsky was the first director set to adapt Frank Herbert's novel — long before it landed on Lynch's desk. The famed French director was set to direct the film, which began development in late 1974, but things didn't go according to plan.
Jodorowsky spent $2 million of the $9.5 million budget solely on pre-production, and his film would have been 14-hours long (That's not a typo). He didn't follow the source material very well, and the two and a half years of development came to an end when he ran out of money, needing an additional five million to finalize his movie. By 1982, the rights had lapsed, and Dino De Laurentis scooped them up for Lynch's film.
The story of Jodorowsky's Dune is well-known, thanks to a 2013 documentary that explored the cult film director's attempt at adapting Frank Herbert's classic novel. His movie may never have been fully realized, but the documentary stands as an examination of his filmmaking process, and it's all the world will see of his ambitious project.