Alejandro Jodorowsky had originally planned on filming Dune in the early-'70s, and had enlisted the help of
Jean Giraud and
H.R. Giger to create the movie's visual style.
Salvador Dalí was enlisted to play the part of the Emperor, and Jodorowsky also intended to cast his own son
Brontis Jodorowsky as Paul,
David Carradine as Duke Leto,
Orson Welles as the Baron, and
Gloria Swanson as the Benne Geserit Reverend Mother. The soundtrack was to be done by
Pink Floyd. According to Jodorowsky, "The project was sabotaged in Hollywood. It was French and not American. Their message was 'not Hollywood enough'. There was intrigue, plunder. The storyboard was circulated among all the big studios. Later, the visual aspect of
Star Wars (1977) strangely resembled our style. To make
Alien (1979), they called Moebius [Giraud], Foss, Giger, O'Bannon, etc. The project signaled to Americans the possibility of making a big show of science-fiction films, outside of the scientific rigor of
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). The project of Dune changed our lives." Jodorowsky also planned on making numerous changes to the source material, including making Duke Leto a eunuch and the spice a blue sponge. Author
Frank Herbert openly despised these concepts.
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