David Lynch Was Set On Casting Val Kilmer In Dune Until Kyle MacLachlan Came Along
David Lynch's "Dune" was mostly seen as a misstep for the celebrated director back in 1984. As we gear up for the bleak blockbuster that is Denis Villeneuve's "Dune: Part Two," Lynch's "Dune" now occupies an unusual space in the public consciousness — somewhere between cult classic and historic blunder. There are undoubtedly plenty of things wrong with "Dune" 1984, and the film suffered a brutal critical and commercial reception. But forty years after Lynch's $40 million spectacle bombed at the box office, some have come to see the films' positives, arguing that "Dune" 1984 is better than its reputation suggests.
Which, as it happens, is a perfectly reasonable point of view. Aside from the impressive set and costume design, "Dune" actually featured some pretty good visual effects for the time. What's more, the casting was excellent. Lynch may have ruthlessly denied Glenn Close for a part in "Dune," but luckily for him, British actress Francesca Annis provided a top-notch performance as Lady Jessica, Duke Leto (Jürgen Prochnow)'s concubine, and Paul Atreides (Kyle MacLachlan)'s mother. MacLachlan, meanwhile, was perfectly solid in the lead role, even if his appearance in the film did lead to some career difficulties that would only be remedied by Lynch hiring him for the much more successful "Blue Velvet" in 1986.
But the director wouldn't have had to rescue McLachlan from post-"Dune" obscurity had he gone with his original choice for Paul Atreides.
Val Kilmer was the number one choice for Paul Atreides
Anyone who's seen the excellent documentary "Val" will be aware of how interesting an artist Val Kilmer is. Before he was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015 and had to retreat from acting, the "Top Gun" star had crafted an enviable Hollywood career, delivering some truly iconic performances in everything from "Tombstone" to "Batman Forever" (yes, "Batman Forever" is iconic for us '90s kids). But it seems the actor could have very easily found himself in the same post-"Dune" position as Kyle MacLachlan before he even had a chance to forge such a diverse and impressive career.
In /Film alum Max Evry's book "A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch's Dune – An Oral History" (via Mashable), "Dune" casting director Jane Jenkins recalls how David Lynch initially wanted to hire Kilmer before seeing MacLachlan's screen test. She said:
"I think the biggest shake-up early on was that we were going to go with Val Kilmer for Paul [Atreides]. I had done a huge search around the country. I'd gone to Chicago, New York... There were a handful of actors that we talked about."
According to production office assistant Craig Campobasso, the team auditioned everyone from Kevin Costner to Michael Biehn (who would end up starring in another famous 1984 sci-fi hit, "The Terminator"). But it seems Kilmer was actually the number one choice for Paul Atreides before MacLachlan auditioned and immediately impressed Lynch. As Campobasso put it, "Paul-Muad'Dib is not an easy character. Kyle made it look easy."
It's probably a good thing Val Kilmer wasn't cast in Dune
It's not surprising that David Lynch was so impressed by Kyle MacLachlan's screen test. As the actor told the LA Times back in 1990, "I had read 'Dune' and I was Paul Atreides. I wanted to be able to say those words and do that stuff." In other words, MacLachlan clearly had an affinity for Frank Herbert's original novel and was committed to providing the best performance he could. It's a shame that this led to the actor being ostracized following the failure of "Dune," with MacLachlan telling the Times that in the year after Lynch's 1984 effort, his career felt "like a ship, you could feel it going down."
Thankfully, the director would pluck MacLachlan out of his slump and revive his career with "Blue Velvet." The pair would, of course, go on to work together on numerous projects, perhaps most notably on Lynch's celebrated TV series "Twin Peaks," in which MacLachlan played FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper. In that sense, it's probably a good thing that Val Kilmer wasn't cast in "Dune" as there's no guarantee he and Lynch would have formed a similarly fruitful working relationship, which might have meant Kilmer's career ended before it began.
Meanwhile, as the 1984 film continues to undergo a reappraisal, Lynch himself has maintained he has "zero interest in Dune," calling it "a heartache" and "not the film [he] wanted to make." That said, even Denis Villeneuve thinks the film is pretty good, which is undeniably high praise. Still, Kilmer's probably glad he dodged that particular bullet.