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Dune: Prophecy

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"Dune: The Sisterhood" redirects here. For the novel, see Sisterhood of Dune.

Dune: Prophecy
Genre
Based on
Developed by
ShowrunnerAlison Schapker
Starring
Music byVolker Bertelmann
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes1
Production
Executive producers
  • Diane Ademu-John
  • Alison Schapker
  • Jon Spaihts
  • Scott Z. Burns
  • Matthew King
  • John Cameron
  • Cait Collins
  • Brian Herbert
  • Byron Merritt
  • Kim Herbert
  • Dana Calvo
ProducerKevin J. Anderson
Production locations
  • Hungary
  • Jordan
CinematographyPierre Gill
Production companies
Original release
NetworkHBO
ReleaseNovember 17, 2024 (2024-11-17) –
present

Dune: Prophecy is an American science fiction television series developed by Diane Ademu-John and Alison Schapker for HBO. Set in Frank Herbert's Dune universe, the series focuses on the origins of the Bene Gesserit, a powerful social, religious, and political force whose members possess superhuman powers and abilities by undergoing years of intense physical and mental conditioning. Dune: Prophecy is positioned as a prequel series to the 2021 Denis Villeneuve film Dune, which adapts the first half the 1965 novel of the same name by Frank Herbert, and takes place some 10,000 years before the events of the film. The show, which draws upon, but is set after, the Great Schools of Dune novel trilogy (2012–2016) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, is produced by Legendary Television, with Schapker serving as showrunner, writer, and executive producer.

During Legendary Entertainment's 2016 acquisition of the television and film rights to the Dune book series, they began development of a two-part film adaptation with Denis Villeneuve serving as director by 2017. Legendary Television ordered the series in 2019 as a spin-off project from Villeneuve's films. Various creative figures joined by 2019, and following creative overhauls, Schapker became the show-runner, with Anna Foerster serving as director for multiple episodes by June 2023. Meanwhile, casting took place from November 2022 to June 2023. Principal photography began in November 2022 in Budapest and Jordan, and wrapped in December 2023.

Dune: Prophecy premiered on November 17, 2024.

Plot

[edit]

Set 10,000 years before the events of Dune, the series follows sisters Valya and Tula Harkonnen. After the Atreides exiled the Harkonnens as traitors to a cold planet following victory over thinking machines, Mother Superior Raquella Berto-Anirul starts the fabled Bene Gesserit sect[1], truthsayers useful to the powerful, and begins a genetics program to rule the future. When Raquella dies, she envisions a sandworm threatening civilization, and urges Valya to lead and do something.

Sister Dorothea tries to destroy the breeding program as something impure; Valya uses the Voice to order her to commit suicide, and feels damned for this. 30 years later, Valya is Mother Superior. Constantine Corrino watches Keiran Atreides train his sister Princess Ynez in swordsmanship. Duke Richese offers a fleet to Emperor Javicco to subdue Fremen on Arrakis, as his 9-year-old son Pruwet prepares to marry Ynez. Empress Natalya opposes the wedding. Reverend Mother Kasha discerns Desmond Hart tells the truth when reporting that the Fremen are blameless for a raid on Arrakis; later, she has a nightmare about Ynez' future.

Valya and Tula plan a mentor for Ynez, as they put acolytes through their paces - combat training, truthsaying practice -, and seek to weaken the Emperor on Arrakis by putting a Sister on the throne. Ynez is engaged to Pruwet in a pomegranate ceremony. Harrow Harkonnen offers whale fur to Javicco. Pruwet brings out a forbidden toy, a scurrying robotic lizard, which Desmond stabs; Natalya is outraged, but Javicco overrules her. Ynez and Constantine go out clubbing for a last night of freedom, and snort a powder. Desmond tells Javicco of rebellious stirrings galaxywide; Javicco decries the wedding. Ynez takes Keiran to a private room at the club; they share drugs and have sex.

Javicco views a video of Arrakis and a sandworm attacking a spice-gathering machine. Desmond finds Pruwet playing in a corridor and complains of Bene Gesserit control; he then psychically burns Pruwet to death, which kills Kasha too, as Valya and others watch in horror.

Cast and characters

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Main

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  • Emily Watson as Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen, leader of the Sisterhood[2]
    • Jessica Barden as Young Valya, an ambitious, stubborn and forceful woman who "dreams of restoring her family's noble status."[3]
  • Olivia Williams as Sister Tula Harkonnen, Valya's sister[4] and a Reverend Mother
  • Travis Fimmel as Desmond Hart, "a charismatic soldier with an enigmatic past, who seeks to gain the Emperor's trust at the expense of the Sisterhood."[1]
  • Jodhi May as Empress Natalya,[4] "a formidable royal who united thousands of worlds in her marriage to Emperor Corrino."[6]
  • Sarah-Sofie Boussnina as Princess Ynez, "an independent young princess dealing with the pressures of her responsibility as heir to the Golden Lion Throne."[7]
  • Chloe Lea as Lila, "the youngest acolyte at the Sisterhood School with a deep empathy beyond her years."[7]
  • Chris Mason as 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."[8]
  • Shalom Brune-Franklin as Mikaela, "a strong-willed Fremen woman who serves the royal family while longing for a home planet she's never known."[7]
  • Mark Strong as 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."[8]
  • Jade Anouka as Sister Theodosia, "a talented and ambitious acolyte at the Sisterhood who harbors a dangerous secret about her past."[8]
  • Edward Davis as Harrow Harkonnen, a "rising politician from a once-great family, who harbors a strong desire to elevate his House to its former glory."[9]
  • Josh Heuston as Constantine Corrino, the illegitimate son of Javicco who is "torn between seeking his father's approval and his own happiness."[9]
  • Faoileann Cunningham as Sister Jen, "a fierce, unpredictable acolyte in training at the Sisterhood School who rarely reveals her emotional core."[7]
  • Aoife Hinds as Sister Emeline, "a zealous acolyte descended from a long line of martyrs, who carries fervent religion to her training at the Sisterhood."[7]
  • Mark Addy

Recurring

[edit]
  • Tabu as Sister Francesca, a powerful Bene Gesserit and the Emperor's former lover, whose return to the palace "strains the balance of power in the capital."[10]
    • Charithra Chandran as Young Francesca, whose early life and romance with the Emperor are seen in flashbacks.[11]

Guest

[edit]

Episodes

[edit]
No.Title [13]Directed byWritten by [14]Original air date [13]U.S. viewers
(millions)
1"The Hidden Hand"Anna FoersterDiane Ademu-JohnNovember 17, 2024 (2024-11-17)TBD
2"Two Wolves"TBAElizabeth Padden and Kor AdanaNovember 24, 2024 (2024-11-24)TBD
3"Sisterhood Above All"TBAMonica Owusu-Breen and Jordan GoldbergDecember 1, 2024 (2024-12-01)TBD
4TBATBAKevin Lau & Suzanne WrubelDecember 8, 2024 (2024-12-08)TBD
5TBATBACarlito Rodriguez & Leah Benavides RodriguezDecember 15, 2024 (2024-12-15)TBD
6TBATBAElizabeth Padden & Suzanne WrubelDecember 22, 2024 (2024-12-22)TBD

Production

[edit]

Development

[edit]

In November 2016, Legendary Entertainment had acquired the film and television rights for the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert from his estate.[15][16] Legendary eventually contacted Denis Villeneuve to direct a two-part film adaptation of the novel by the next month, and was confirmed as director by February 2017.[17][18] Legendary Television announced a full series order of Dune: The Sisterhood in June 2019, produced for WarnerMedia's then-streaming service HBO Max.[19][20][21] The series would focus on the Bene Gesserit order and serve as a prequel to Villeneuve's 2021 film Dune,[22] based on material from Dune and the 2012 prequel novel Sisterhood of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.[14] Villeneuve was set to direct and produce the series' pilot with Jon Spaihts writing the screenplay. Both would serve as executive producers alongside Byron Merritt, Kim Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, and Herbert's son, Brian.[23][24] Villeneuve said, "The Bene Gesserit have always been fascinating to me. Focusing a series around that powerful order of women seemed not only relevant and inspiring but a dynamic setting for the television series."[25]

Shortly after its announcement, the project received criticism for its lack of female creatives except for Herbert's granddaughter, Kim Herbert.[26][27] Dana Calvo was hired in July 2019 to serve as showrunner alongside Spaihts.[28][29] In November 2019, Spaihts left the series to focus on Dune: Part Two (2024).[30][31] The Hollywood Reporter reported that Legendary Television was "not happy" with Spaihts's early work as showrunner and opted to remove him.[30] Diane Ademu-John had been hired as the new showrunner by July 2021.[32][33] As production of Dune: Part Two progressed, Villeneuve was no longer able to direct and replaced by Johan Renck as director for the first two episodes in April 2022.[34] Shortly after production began, Diane Ademu-John had exited the project as co-showrunner but remained the executive producer; this left Alison Schapker as the sole showrunner.[35] In February 2023, Renck also exited the project, resulting in the project being on hiatus.[4] He was replaced that June by Anna Foerster, who would direct multiple episodes, including the pilot.[36] In November 2023, the series was retitled Dune: Prophecy and set to release on Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service, Max.[37][38] In November 2024, Schapker explained that the series would explore multiple time periods, with the characters' pasts adapted from the Great Schools of Dune novel trilogy, and the present timeline original to the television series.[39]

Casting

[edit]

In October 2022, Emily Watson, Shirley Henderson, Indira Varma, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Faoileann Cunningham, Aoife Hinds, and Chloe Lea were cast to star in the series.[2][6][7] Travis Fimmel joined the cast the following month.[1][40] On December 1, 2022, Mark Strong, Jade Anouka, and Chris Mason joined the cast in starring roles.[8] Josh Heuston and Edward Davis would join in recurring roles later that month.[9] During Renck's exit in February 2023, Henderson had also left.[36] In June, Olivia Williams was cast to replace Henderson, with Jodhi May cast to replace Varma, who exited the series due to scheduling conflicts.[4] In May 2024, it was announced that Tabu had joined the cast of the series as Sister Francesca,[10] Jihae was cast as Reverend Mother Kasha, the Emperor's Truthsayer,[12] and Jessica Barden was cast as the younger version of Valya.[3] The younger versions of Tula, Francesca and Kasha are portrayed by Emma Canning, Charithra Chandran and Yerin Ha, respectively.[5]

Filming

[edit]

The series was originally scheduled to start filming on November 2, 2020, in Budapest and Jordan.[41] It began production on November 22, 2022, under the working title Dune: The Sisterhood, with Renck confirming the start on his Instagram account.[42][43] In July 2023, Deadline Hollywood reported that, following a winter hiatus, production was set to resume in Budapest amidst the WGA and SAG strikes due to the series' talent working under the UK-based union Equity.[44] Filming had concluded by December 2023, with Pierre Gill having served as lead cinematographer. Gill did not use the StageCraft virtual production technology, which he had previously utilized in the television series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, as the production primarily relied on practical sets and production values.[45]

Music

[edit]

Jónsi was originally hired to compose the show's score.[46] However, by October 2023, Volker Bertelmann was set to compose the score for the series.[47]

Marketing

[edit]

Max released a teaser trailer for the series on May 15, 2024.[48] A second teaser was released on July 18, 2024.[49] On October 17, 2024, the official trailer was unveiled during a panel at New York Comic Con.[50]

Release

[edit]

Originally to premiere on the streaming service Max, Dune: Prophecy was rebranded as an HBO Original in July 2024 and was released on Max and HBO on November 17, 2024.[37][51][52]

Reception

[edit]

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 71% approval rating with an average rating of 6.4/10, based on 42 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Grounded by reliably terrific performances from Emily Watson and Olivia Williams, Dune: Prophecy lacks the spice of Denis Villeneuve's films but compensates with addictively perilous palace intrigue."[53] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 64 out of 100 based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[54]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Otterson, Joe (November 8, 2022). "Dune Prequel Series at HBO Max Casts Travis Fimmel". Variety. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Otterson, Joe (October 4, 2022). "Dune Prequel Series at HBO Max Casts Emily Watson, Shirley Henderson". Variety. Archived from the original on October 17, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Otterson, Joe (May 15, 2024). "Dune: Prophecy Casts End of the F—ing World Star Jessica Barden". Variety. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d Cordero, Rosy (June 30, 2023). "Dune: The Sisterhood: Olivia Williams & Jodhi May Join Max Series in Recastings as Anna Foerster Boards as New Director". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 14, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
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