The Man in the High Castle is based on the work of acclaimed writer Philip K. Dick, whose science fiction novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was turned into Blade Runner and whose short story We Can Remember It for You Wholesale was adapted into two Total Recall films. The Man in the High Castle marks the first time Dick’s work has been adapted for television. Amazon released 10 episodes for the acclaimed first season, and is now is readying an additional 10 for season 2.
We met up with the cast and crew to discuss what’s ahead for fans in this rich, alternate-history story at this year’s San Diego Comic Con. In the video, we speak with series stars Alexa Davalos (Juliana Crain), DJ Qualls (Ed McCarthy), Rufus Sewell (Obergruppenführer John Smith), Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Nobusuke Tagomi), Rupert Evans (Frank Frink), and newcomer Bella Heathcote from the film Neon Demon. We also talked with series director/producer Daniel Percival.
The fact that fans now get 20 episodes of the binge-worthy show in such short order is amazing given the nine years it took for Dick’s daughter, Isa Hackett (co-founder of Electric Shepherd Productions), to get The Man in the High Castle made after Ridley Scott and his Scott Free Productions were on board to produce.
The series is set in a 1963 America in which the Nazis and Japanese have won World War II and split the now-occupied America between them. Hackett always looked at the source material as a serialized show, rather than a two-hour feature film.
With the sophomore season debuting Dec. 16, the surprise sci-fi ending of the first season left a lot of unanswered questions. At the Comic Con panel, Hackett promised fans will finally get to meet the elusive “man in the high castle.” Taking a page out of the recent Game of Thrones season 6, this show isn’t following the book verbatim. Hackett said the book has been a spiritual guide to the series, which means some things that were skipped over in season 1 will be incorporated into the new season.
The producers confirmed that (spoiler alert!) Juliana Crain (played by Davalos) will be dealing with the decimation of the resistance, Joe Blake (Luke Kleintank) will be moving to Berlin, and Frank Frink (Evans) will become more radicalized after viewing the mysterious movies in season 1.
With political tensions mounting between Germany and Japan, Trade Minister Tagomi (Tagawa) begins to regret the success he had in Season 1. Meanwhile, John Smith (Sewell) struggles to reconcile the values of the Reich with the deteriorating health of his son — all while tasked with a mission from the Führer for which failure is not an option.
Season 2 of Man in the High Castle premieres on Amazon December 16, 2016.
