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Daniel Warren Johnson was burnt out on sci-fi until 2021's Dune, and it reignited plans for Chainkata

Daniel Warren Johnson thought science fiction was played out (but then he saw the Dune movie)

News by Joshua Lapin-Bertone, Contributing writer

Published on Thu Aug 20 2026

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Daniel Warren Johnson was burnt out on science fiction. The comic book writer and artist still enjoyed the genre, but it had been ages since he had last been excited about it. Johnson, who is best known for his work on Extremity and The Jurassic League, was developing a science fiction fantasy comic called Chainkata, but he was having trouble breaking the story.

Then he saw Dune, and everything changed.

“What brought me back to trying to get me to crack it was actually seeing the first Dune movie in 2021,” Daniel Warren Johnson says during a conversation with David Wextler on Direct Edition. “Something about the presentation of the visuals and the unapologetic bigness. I like the second one a lot, but the first one is one of my favorite movies. It’s very bold. It’s unafraid to just kind of throw you into the deep end of the pool. It just got me so excited for science fiction again.”

Chainkata has been described as “chicks with chainsaws in space,” which is a peak science fiction concept. The first issue will be available this November, and in many ways, we can thank Dune.

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Joshua Lapin-Bertone: Joshua is a pop culture writer specializing in comic book media. His work has appeared on the official DC Comics website, the DC Universe subscription service, HBO Max promotional videos, the Batman Universe fansite, and more. In between traveling around the country to cover various comic conventions, Joshua resides in Florida where he binges superhero television and reads obscure comics from yesteryear.