“I got to be in a movie that people actually want to see!” : 50 years before Dune 2, Charlotte Rampling refused to act in the first adaptation of the novel.

to adapt Dune It’s not an easy task on the big screen. In the mid-1970s, Alejandro Jodorowsky tried to turn Frank Herbert’s novels into films, but to no avail. Later, in the 80s, it was David Lynch’s turn. His dune, although it became a reality, did not live up to all expectations, but it still became a cult. From now on, it was Denis Villeneuve who took upon himself the difficult task of translating Herbert’s dense work into pictures – this time with great success.

Interestingly, one of the actors appearing in Villeneuve’s saga has already almost joined the first project.Alejandro Jodorowsky. Charlotte Rampling, who plays Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam in the new version, was actually supposed to play Lady Jessica, Paul’s mother, in the 1970s adaptation.

Among other names mentioned for the film, we find David Carradine as Duke Leto, Salvador Dalí as the Emperor Padishah, Brontë Jodorowsky, the filmmaker’s son, then 12 years old, as he is, playing Paul Atreides. The cast also included Orson Welles, Gloria Swanson and Mick Jagger. It was quite an impression…

“The Greatest Science Fiction Movie Ever Made”

In 2013, the documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune, which tells about this film under the nickname “The greatest science fiction film ever made”, shows what this version is Dune. In a 2014 interview with Indiewire, documentary director Frank Pavitch recounted what happened. Charlotte Rampling And the reason why the actor refused the role.

“Jodorowsky was going to shoot part of the film in Algeria. They talked to the Algerian government and the Algerian army was going to play extra. Jodorowsky was looking for someone to play Jessica, and he wanted a strong, beautiful woman, not a weak, delicate woman. Someone with real spiritual power. He saw a movie with Charlotte Rampling and thought she would be perfect.“

But the actor immediately turned down the role after learning more about Jodorowsky’s vision. She was convinced that no one was watching her film – oddly enough, Rebecca Ferguson almost turned down the role of Lady Jessica – especially because of a particularly nasty scene…

“They sent the script to Charlotte Rampling and she agreed to meet Jodo before reading it“, Pavic continued. “There is a scene in the story with a character named Raban the Beast who is part of the Harkonnen army. In order to insult Duke Leto, David Carradine, the Rabban monster orders his army, the Algerian army, to drop their pants and defecate. So there will be a scene of 2000 extra people defecating at the same time.“

After reading the script Charlotte Rampling Finally he said: “I can’t be in a movie with 2,000 extra poops on screen! I need to be in a movie that people will actually see! Who the hell is going to watch this movie?’ Jodo said: “It was a huge disappointment for me. A big disappointment.’ It’s pretty fantastic.“

In addition to this rather daring scene, the director also intended to distance himself from the novel, stating that his goal was to create his own. Dune And not a faithful interpretation of the book.

today, Dune Considered influential by Jodorowsky because it was not implemented. Artist HR Giger, for example, drew concept art for the film. If not, his work on Alien might not have happened. and finally, Charlotte Rampling Part of the Dune experience will be: she was just waiting for the right version and the right role, the role of Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam, seen briefly in Dune (2021) and more consistently in Dune 2.

Dune: Part II is still playing in a few remaining theaters. go.