Anyone who has seen the documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune has probably done the same Google search immediately after: “Jodorowsky’s Dune book.” That’s because in the film, director Alejandro Jodorowsky speaks at length not just about how he planned on adapting Frank Herbert’s Dune for the big screen, but the incredible book he created so movie studios could see all the prep work he’d done.
Filled with the script, storyboards, concept art, and more, the book is basically as close as anyone can get to seeing Jodorowsky’s version of Dune. But, of course, the director and his team only created a handful of copies and this was decades ago. This isn’t a book you can just get on Amazon. It doesn’t exist in any attainable way.
Now though, an attainable way has emerged, if you have a whole bunch of money. One of the super rare books made for Jodorowsky’s Dune is up for auction via Christie’s later this month. The auction house claims it’s probably one of 10 or maybe 20 copies in the world—and estimates it’ll fetch between 25,000 and 35,000 Euro (basically between $30,000 and 40,000).
And who knows, it could be more than that. With Denis Villeneuve’s version of Dune currently in theaters, and a part two coming in 2023, Dune is once again in the public eye. That means any fan who wants to get into the different adaptations of Herbert’s world will undoubtedly learn about all of the fantastical worldbuilding Jodorowsky did for his never-made film. The 2014 documentary directed by Frank Pavich gets into some of the artwork by the likes of Moebius, Chris Foss, H.R. Giger, and many others—but to actually have it in your hands. To read the script. See the storyboards. That would be magnificent.
For more on the book, and if you actually want to bid on it, head over to the Christie’s site.
UPDATE 11/22/2021, 3:55 p.m.: Well, forget about that estimate. Christie’s originally figured the book would sell for between $30,000 and 40,000, but, in the end, it sold for closer to ONE HUNDRED TIMES THAT. Yes, the book sold for 2.66 million Euros, which is just under three million U.S. dollars. That’s one very big Dune fan.
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