I'm John Harrison I was the writer of Children of Dune and the co-producer
Children of Dune is based on the two books Dune Messiah and Children of Dune
that basically end
the Atreides family saga on Arrakis, whereas as the first one is about of the rise of
Paul Muad'Dib and House Atreides on Arrakis
the second one is about the fall of that House
in the broader sense of what happens on Arrakis
adapting Frank Herbert's books is always a very tough
enterprise because the books are so thick and rich
with drama with action with characterization
in some cases I've had to flatten out the narrative I can't jump around as much I have
to lead the audience from point a to b to c
in a more linear fashion
then Frank was able to do, or was wanting to do with the books
I think that if one knows the books really well though
one will find that the cinematic adaptations that we have done are true to the essence
and the spirit of his books
everything that is in the miniseries
character, dialogue, plot devices
are all issues that have come from
the books themselves I may have moved some things around, I may have enlarge a character
and combined a few things into one character
but everything that is in miniseries comes from the books.
This is the thing that really drives the story of Children of Dune
it is about the concepts, very simple
but coming right out of Herbert
that when religion and politics ride in the same cart
the whirlwind follows
and subsequently, and equally as important,
every revolution contains the seeds of its own destruction
these are the themes of Children of Dune.
Twelve years on from Muad'Dib ascended to the throne
we now have an empire that in its own way has become corrupt has become theocratic
has become oppressive
and Muad'Dib desperate to undo
what has been done in his name.
His only salvation is his son
and his daughter
and that is how the the saga continues.
The women of Dune are perhaps the most essential component of Dune
in the entire Dune saga if you look back at Herbert's original material
the saga of Dune begins because of the choice of one woman
Lady Jessica Atreides
violating the Bene Gesserit training that she had, she decides to have a son
instead of a daughter
which she was charged to do by her religious order
but she was so in love with her husband
she decided to give him a son instead of a daughter, that one decision starts the entire
Dune saga, without that decision there is no Dune, because with the birth of her son Paul
comes the messiah complex,
comes the revolution on Arrakis
comes the theocracy that grew up around his name.
All of it follows that one decision,
you could say in a sense that the saga of Dune is really just a saga about love,
because that was the driving force
in Children of Dune we now have Paul Muad'Dib surrounded by this trio of women
is concubine Chani, whom he loves
his formal wife Irulan, who loves him but can never have his love
and his mother Jessica.
These women form a triumvirate around him drive the story, in addition in this one
Children of Dune, we have princess Wensicia who is Irulan's sister, who is driving a conspiracy
to bring down house Atreides, and she's brilliant and she's vicious and she's resourceful.
So in essence the Children of Dune miniseries
is really a drama driven by
female power, intrigue and cunning.