"The Sands of Space" is a parody of the Frank Herbert novel "Dune", which has also been called unfilmable. Krusty's attempt to film "The Sands of Space" has several parallels to the failed "Dune" adaptation attempted by Alejandro Jodorowsky, as well as the troubled production Dune (1984) directed by David Lynch, which was also largely filmed in Mexico. Other reviewers also cited similarities to Zardoz (1974) and Krull (1983).
The Directors Guild of America's (Clint) Eastwood rule forbids an actor or producer from replacing their own director. Krusty, in replacing his own director, violates this rule.
David Lynch famously dissociated himself from the Dune (1984) movie, largely over creative and studio/director differences. This is mirrored about 10 minutes into the episode when the director quits the film leaving Krusty to take over.
The episode's title is a reference to The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002); the autobiography of legendary studio boss Robert Evans which was later made into a documentary by filmmakers Brett Morgen and Nanette Burstein.
This episode has parallels to "The Disaster Artist", including the director and star's non-romantic jealousy of his assistants significant other taking any of the assistants time away from the film. Also, the ending shows people laughing and liking the picture, mistaking it for a comedy, just like at the premiere ( and subsequent midnight showings) of "The Room" which "The Disaster Artist" is about the filming of.