Quentin Tarantino refuses to watch the new “Dune” movies: 'I never need to see that story again'

"I don't need to see a movie that says the word 'spice' so dramatically," the "Pulp Fiction" director said while complaining about Hollywood remakes.

As the end of 2024 draws near, cinephiles are starting to select their favorite movies of the past year. So when Quentin Tarantino recently appeared on Bret Easton Ellis' podcast (alongside his frequent collaborator Roger Avary), Ellis couldn't resist asking the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood director about his favorites of the past 12 months.

You might have already heard that Tarantino enjoyed Joker: Folie à Deux a lot more than most critics or moviegoers. Funnily enough, he hasn't even seen one of the year's other blockbuster sequels, Dune: Part Two, even though it received a much more positive reception. In fact, Tarantino told Ellis that he hasn't seen director Denis Villeneuve's first Dune either, and doesn't plan to.

"I saw Dune a couple times," Tarantino said, referring to past screen adaptations of Frank Herbert's classic '60s sci-fi novel. "I never need to see that story again. See 'spiceworms' and hear about the 'spice'? I don't need to see a movie that says the word 'spice' so dramatically."

Related: Inside the Dune dynasty: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler, and Florence Pugh dig into the battle for Arrakis

Not to get too nerdy about it, but the iconic beasts of Arrakis are technically known as "sandworms," although they are central to the production of the spice melange.

David Lynch, whom Tarantino has been up and down on over the years, directed the first movie version of Dune in 1984. Though that truncated version of Herbert's story has developed a cult following over the years, it disappointed fans at the time, leading the SyFy Channel to produce a miniseries adaptation titled Frank Herbert's Dune in 2000. Tarantino didn't specify if he's watched both of those adaptations, but his greater point is that he's tired of filmmakers rehashing the same source material multiple times.

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He didn't stop at Dune, either. Tarantino also expressed frustration with Netflix's recent Ripley series (the third screen adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel The Talented Mr. Ripley) and FX's Emmy-winning Shōgun (the second TV adaptation of James Clavell's 1975 novel).

Related: Inside Shōgun, the Game of Thrones-sized samurai epic 

You can listen to Tarantino and Avary's full conversation via The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast's Patreon page.