To say that Dune has more or less become a cultural phenomenon wouldn’t be an understatement, considering how massively hyped it has become after garnering all the attention and appreciation from fans over the years.
Although the book series was first released almost half a century ago, Denis Villeneuve brought the craze for it back with one of the best live-action adaptations ever.
But this book-based film wasn’t made without many sacrifices, especially from the off-set crew. Like from Hans Zimmer and none other than filmmaker Villeneuve himself.
While Zimmer turned down his longtime work partner Christopher Nolan’s movie to compose the score for Dune, Villeneuve made a greater sacrifice as he turned down his dream job to direct a James Bond film for the same — all of which contributed to making the movie an epic masterpiece.
These Celebrities Turned Down Massively Successful Offers To Work On Dune
Hans Zimmer is renowned as being one of the greatest masterminds when it comes to music composing and producing, which is why he is one of the constant hotshots in the field. And being in so much demand, he was offered to work on two films at the same time: Tenet and Dune.
While most would have expected him to choose the former since it was from his longtime work partner Christopher Nolan, Zimmer eventually ended up choosing the latter after only one word from filmmaker Denis Villeneuve: ‘Dune’ (as he shared during an in-house podcast episode of ReelBlend).
But the composer didn’t do this without a proper reason: Even though working with Nolan would have been equally appealing to him, just the mere name of the novel series took Zimmer back to his childhood days when he absolutely fawned over it, alluring him to work with Villeneuve instead.
What’s more, besides working on it making Zimmer’s dream come true, is that this was the first time the music producer decided to work on an adaptation of the book series, having not seen any adaptations of the same previously. Despite that, Hans Zimmer did a beyond-exceptional job.
Then there’s Denis Villeneuve himself, under whose supervision the 2021 film managed to become one of the best live-action adaptations of the book series to date: He turned down his dream job of working on a James Bond film.
Previously, on the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz, the filmmaker revealed how massive a dream it was for him to direct a Bond movie, as he said:
“I would deeply love to one day make a James Bond movie. It’s a character that I’ve been with since my childhood. I have massive affection for Bond.”
And he was the top choice to direct for the same — the $774 million 2021 blockbuster, No Time to Die. However, at the same time, Villeneuve also got the chance to make one other of his dreams come true — direct a Dune film, and just like Zimmer, he chose to go with the latter (as per World of Reel).
Dune Seemingly Brought Some Celebrities Together As Well
While on the one hand, the 2021 book-based masterpiece made some celebrities turn down massive offers to work on it, on the other, it also led to some celebrities getting closer. Like Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, for instance.
In fact, the rumors went further than those of friendship as they hinted at a possible romance between the duo. This started when the pair were seen hanging together in New York City by some fans, even after the shoot for their film together had concluded (as reported by J-14).
These rumors were further fueled as the co-stars gushed over each other and heaped each other with praises. However, Zendaya eventually shut down all these rumors as she claimed: “Timothée has become one of my closest friends, and he’s lovely and so talented,” during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Thus, while fans initially got excited over sparked romance rumors between the currently raging Hollywood hotshots, for now, they will have to make do with them just being “close friends”.
In the meanwhile, you can check out their onscreen chemistry in Dune, which is out for streaming on Netflix.
