What Do We Know About Dune Prophecy? More than you may think. With the second part of Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic science fiction novel a critical and box office success, it is going to be several years before we see the next feature film in the series, Dune Messiah. Luckily, production on the small-screen prequel /spin-off was concurrent with Dune: Part Two which means before the end of the year we are going to return to the fictional realms of Arrakis, Geidi Prime, and more via Max.
There have been quite a few reveals about Dune Prophecy, so let’s jump in and discuss, starting with this poster:
Denis Villeneuve is not directing any episodes
The original plan was for Villeneuve to helm the series in addition to his big screen directorial duties. The series, originally announced as Dune: The Sisterhood, went into production in November 22 with Chernobyl director Johan Renck behind the camera. Why wouldn’t the visionary director of the feature films be making the series? It all came down to timing. With Legendary originally acquiring the rights to the Herbert novels in 2016 and announcing Villeneuve as director in 2017, he was deep into the project by the 2019 announcement of Dune: The Sisterhood. While Jon Spaihts was showrunner for the series, he departed in 2019 to focus on Dune: Part Two, something Villeneuve also opted to make his primary project. That shifted the series to Dana Calvo as showrunner alongside executive producers including novelist Kevin J. Anderson, co-writer of dozens of Dune prequels and sequels alongside Brian and Kim Herbert, the children of Frank Herbert.
What is it about?
Taking things way back, Dune Prophecy is set 10,000 years before the events of Dune, when Paul Atreides joined the Fremen to lead an uprising on Arrakis to take down House Harkonen. Using the deep mythology created by Frank Herbert and the expanded novels including Sisterhood of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, the series centers on sisters Valya Harkkonen and Tula Harkkonen, the founders of the mysterious all-female sect known as the Bene Gesserit. For the layperson, these are the witch-like advisors seen in the films played by Rebecca Ferguson, Charlotte Rampling, and Florence Pugh. In Dune Prophecy, the siblings, played by Emily Watson as Valya and Olivia Williams as Tula, combat forces that threaten the future of humankind. That leads to the next question.
What is the threat against humankind?
This is something we do not know for certain, but excuse me while I nerd out a little here. In Dune Part Two, Princess Irulan notes the time as being the year 10191 and Prophecy is set ten thousand years earlier. Fans of the Dune novels know that the lack of any computers in the world of Dune is due to an event that happened known as the Butlerian Jihad. This was a massive conflict throughout the known universe between an A.I. consciousness that enslaved humanity and the people who fought back. When humans defeated the machines, computers were outlawed, leaving the world a different place, hence the use of complex machines instead of computers. The Butlerian Jihad occurred more than 10000 years before Dune which means Prophecy will find the houses of Atreides, Harkonnen, and Corrino in a very different place than we have seen before. While I would imagine if the films keep making money for Warner Bros, we may see a Butlerian Jihad series of its own while Prophecy will focus on the early conflicts between the human families as they begin their exploration of the galaxy.
Who is starring in the series?
The cast includes Emily Watson (Punch Drunk Love), Olivia Williams (Rushmore), Shalom Brune-Franklin (The Tourist), Sarah-Sofie Boussnina (The Colony), Faoileann Cunningham (The Northman), Aoife Hinds (Normal People), Chloe Lea (Foundation), Mark Strong (1917), Jade Anouka (His Dark Materials), Chris Mason (Broadchurch), and Travis Fimmel (Raised by Wolves).
Indira Varma (Obi-Wan) was on board to play a character called Empress Natalya, described as “a formidable royal who united thousands of worlds in her marriage to Emperor Corrino”. When Renck and Henderson left and the show went on hiatus, Varma ran into scheduling issues. Empress Natalya is now played by Jodhi May (The Witcher).
Watson and Williams play Valya Harkonnen and Tula Harkonnen. “Together, these women have risen to power in the Sisterhood, a secret organization of women who will ascend to become the Bene Gesserit.” Variety just announced that Jessica Barden of The End of the F—ing World is in the cast as well, playing a younger version of the Valya Harkonnen character. Shirley Henderson of the Harry Potter franchise was originally cast as Tula, but dropped out and was replaced by Williams.
Brune-Franklin is playing Mikaela, “a strong-willed Fremen woman who serves the royal family while longing for a home planet she’s never known.” Boussnina’s character is Princess Ynez, “an independent young princess dealing with the pressures of her responsibility as heir to the Golden Lion Throne.” Cunningham takes on the role of Sister Jen, “a fierce, unpredictable acolyte in training at the Sisterhood School who rarely reveals her emotional core.” Hinds is Sister Emeline, “a zealous acolyte descended from a long line of martyrs, who carries fervent religion to her training at the Sisterhood.” Lea portrays Lila, “the youngest acolyte at the Sisterhood School with a deep empathy beyond her years.” Fimmel’s character is Desmond Hart, “a charismatic soldier with an enigmatic past who seeks to gain the Emperor’s trust at the expense of the Sisterhood.” Strong plays Emperor Javicco Corrino, “a man from a great line of war-time Emperors, who is called upon to govern the Imperium and manage a fragile peace.” Anouka’s character is Sister Theodosia, “a talented and ambitious acolyte at the Sisterhood who harbors a dangerous secret about her past.” And Mason plays Keiran Atreides, “a Swordmaster to a Great House whose ambition to live up to his family name is disrupted when he forms an unexpected connection to a member of the royal family.”
Who made the series?
While Villeneuve and Spaihts departed to make Dune Part Two, Prophecy underwent some shifts behind the scenes. Dana Calvo was replaced by Diane Ademu John as showrunner, who in turn was replaced by Alison Schapker. Renck left early in 2023 and was replaced as director by Anna Foerster, best known for helming the Netflix action movie Lou as well as episodes of Outlander, Carnival Row, and Westworld. Sigur Ros frontman Jonsi was set as composer but was replaced by Volker Bertelmann in October 2023. We also know that production kept going during the SAG AFTRA strike thanks to the cast and crew in Budapest being aligned with the UK based union Equity. Production began in late 2022 and wrapped December 2023. We also know that the series did not use StageCraft technology revolutionized by Disney and Lucasfilm series The Mandalorian and Ahsoka, instead opting for physical production values and practical sets.
When will we see it?
In the recently released teaser trailers, it was revealed that the six-episode series is due for a Fall 2024 on Max. We’ve since narrowed the release month down to November. The trailers included some tantalizing imagery, including a cool fight/ sparring session using the shield technology we saw Paul using with Gurney (Josh Brolin) in Dune: Part One.
What do you expect to see in the upcoming Dune series? Are you interested in a show that will focus on the Bene Gesserit? Let us know in the comments.
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