Sections of the film were shot during the Covid-19 United Kingdom lockdown with just the occupants of the director's flat. The director's girlfriend doubled for any actors and WhatsApp voice notes from cast members were used for any extra lines of dialogue
During a Q&A the director regretted having the word "Dune" in the title. Retrospectively feeling this would be exploited to coincide with the heavily marketed Denis Villeneuve adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel
The version of Dune Drifter that was screened at Frightfest is not the version released by the distributor. Possibly in error, a censored version was released with sound dropouts whenever a character swears. Scenes establishing the pilot's relationships, the war and an explanation of the technology are also removed
The "Producer's Cut" on the UK DVD is in fact the original cut, as delivered by the film makers. This was the version screened at film festivals. Confusingly, a censored version of the film is the default version on the DVD and what has been released on streaming services. All swearing has been removed, yet it retains all the violence. Confusingly this version has also removed sections explaining the technology and character development
The cockpit set was constructed in the director's living room. Projection was used to simulate a number of environments and situations for the spaceship to cruise through including a space battle and a crash sequence.