The Mahdi statue at Sietch Tabr was inspired by the Buddha statues in Bamian, Afghanistan, which were later destroyed by the Taliban.
The glowing Fremen eyes effect was accomplished with special ultraviolet contact lenses and a UV-filtering camera lens.
Alice Krige turned down the role of Lady Jessica due to scheduling conflicts. She did, however accept the role in Children of Dune (2003) when Saskia Reeves proved unavailable.
After the production's completion and before its premiere, the Sci-Fi Channel authorized writer/director John Harrison to write and direct a sequel miniseries. Harrison planned to base the next miniseries on Frank Herbert's Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. This eventually became the miniseries Children of Dune (2003), which Harrison wrote but did not direct.
The props department went through a number of tests to find a substance to represent the "spice melange"; they ultimately settled on gunpowder (black) tea.