Hans Zimmer turned down Christopher Nolan's 'Tenet' so he could work on 'Dune'.

Hans Zimmer

Hans Zimmer

The composer - who has worked with Nolan on several of his films including his Batman trilogy, 'Inception' and 'Dunkirk' - spurned Nolan's latest film as he couldn't turn down the chance to score Denis Villeneuve's forthcoming sci-fi epic, making it the first time the pair haven't worked together on one of Nolan's movies since 2006's 'The Prestige'.

Swedish composer Ludwig Goransson will be scoring the secretive project instead.

In an interview with The Playlist, Zimmer said: "'Dune' is one of my favourite books from my teenage years, I love Denis, obviously, and Joe Walker, his editor. We did '12 Years A Slave' together and 'Widows.' We started working together in 1988 for the BBC together. It's nice working with family.

"I have to do ['Dune'], Chris understands I have to do it. He's going to be just fine. Ludwig and I are friends. Forget the friend part, he's really good."

'Dune' tells the complex story of a fallen noble family's attempt to control a desert planet named Arrakis and its export, a rare drug called melange - also known as "the spice" - which is vital to space travel and the most sought after commodity in the universe.

The all-star cast of the production also includes Timothee Chalamet as the lead character Paul Atreides, Rebecca Ferguson, Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling and Javier Bardem, whilst Jason Momoa has also been attached to the project.

Just as Zimmer turned down 'Tenet' to work on 'Dune' director Villeneuve snubbed the opportunity to helm 'Bond 25' to bring his passion project 'Dune' to the big screen.