Dune: Prophecy is the highly anticipated HBO series launching in November 2024. It is a prequel series to Denis Villeneuve’s Dune films, set 10,000 years before the events of Paul Atreides, and digs deep into the history and evolution of the Bene Gesserit—a mysterious sisterhood right at the heart of the Dune universe. The series promises great depth to an already richly woven story of Dune, with insight from its cast and producers alike.
Expanding the Universe of Dune
The showrunner Alison Schapker says, “Dune: Prophecy is this really unique opportunity to explore the origins of the Bene Gesserit and how they inform the larger universe. This series explores the more obscure elements of this order of women and their physical and mental conditioning.”. Schapker said that Dune: Prophecy will deal with how the Bene Gesserit really managed to come to power through the Harkonnen sisters, Valya and Tula, respectively played by Emily Watson and Olivia Williams, in complex storylines that determine the sisterhood’s fate. The show also has multiple timelines where an involved structure of narrative can be made, which could not be done in the movies because of its more linear structure.
A Female Sense of Power
One of the largest differences between Dune movies and this piece of work is that the focus is on female characters and their path to gain power shifts. While movies are focused on one mainly male-led House of Atreides and its eventual fall, Dune: Prophecy underlines females standing behind the political games. This series is about the struggle for influence by the Harkonnen sisters. It allows for a much more interesting perspective on the power struggle in the universe of Dune. This really opens more of the socio-political intricacies to viewers that set up the events within the main Dune storyline.
As Schapker let slip at New York Comic-Con 2024, the whole point was to take all females within the realm of Dune to a whole new level—that is, to shed light on how each one of them is in important ways setting up the future course of the galaxy. The avowing of a female lead and her experience with dominant entities throughout Dune: Prophecy not only weave into the events of the films but further the traditional narrative means of the franchise.
Building on the Success of the Films
The show’s producers have made public their desire to maintain the visual and thematic grandeur of Villeneuve’s films while allowing for the broader narrative scope television offers. As Executive Producer Jordan Goldberg noted, the series, though a prequel, builds off of the aesthetic and atmosphere established in Villeneuve’s productions. The production team worked closely with the talent behind these films to ensure design, world, and thematic continuity while expanding on storylines and characters touched upon briefly in the movies.
As Goldberg explained, this 10,000-year time difference between the series and the films allows them to go into the actual roots of the power struggles, feuds, and philosophies of the Dune universe. By looking into where families like the Harkonnens originally came from and elaborating on their rise to becoming such strong forces, Dune: Prophecy will give viewers a deeper understanding of the later conflicts in the films.
Production Challenges
The production history of Dune: Prophecy has been nothing short of complicated, with many changes in creative leadership. First coming to life as Dune: The Sisterhood back in 2019, it went through many changes in directorial and production shifts. Denis Villeneuve was supposed to direct the pilot himself but then had to step down due to his commitments to the sequel of the Dune film. Then, the project took a temporary hiatus during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes but restarted once negotiations got to a close.
These were challenges, nevertheless, which attracted the likes of Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, Travis Fimmel, and Mark Strong to it. The ensemble presented in this various cast is richly woven into an intricate tapestry of political intrigue, power struggle, and philosophical dilemmas right at the core of the Dune mythos. The actors seem very excited to join such a big, convoluted universe, but most notably, Watson comments on the intensity of her character, Valya Harkonnen-her role is ridden with questions of loyalty, ambition, and family legacy.
A New Era in Sci-Fi Television
The appetite, as with House of the Dragon and The Last of Us, is only growing for large-budget, sprawling storytelling on TV, to which Dune: Prophecy will no doubt continue to cater in a multifaceted story that appeals to much more than just die-hard fans of Frank Herbert’s books and Villeneuve’s films but to a wide range of viewers who enjoy complicated, character-driven stories.
While Dune: Prophecy will work well enough on its own to explore the Bene Gesserit and their path to power, this series is also essential as a complement to the Dune films and added value for the saga in its entirety. With the themes of survival and political manipulation vastly deepened in how religion meets power, the series is positioned to play a high role in sci-fi television.
Conclusion
Dune: Prophecy is, in fact, a new beginning for the Dune franchise: allowing the audience to emerge further into the rather complex history of the universe. By giving a special place to the Bene Gesserit, strong leading ladies, and articulate narrative structures, the series will succeed in paying homage while growing the detailed world Villeneuve created on the big screen. With the month of November looming, excitement is palpable for what many fans wish to be yet another milestone in the Dune legacy.
