The Dune franchise is expanding, going beyond Denis Villeneuve’s celebrated films and heading to the small screen with a new TV show.
1. When and Where Will Dune: Prophecy Come Out?
The series is still on track for a late 2024 release, but no date has been given.
Dune: Prophecy has been in the works since 2019, first titled Dune: The Sisterhood before being renamed. The Dune franchise is expanding, going beyond Denis Villeneuve’s celebrated films and heading to the small screen with a new TV show.
On November 22, 2022, former director Johan Renck announced that production had begun. Renck has since left the project and was replaced by Anna Foerster.
2. What Is the Plot of Dune: Prophecy?
The universe of Dune is incredibly vast, with stories extending to the farthest corners of the universe and spanning thousands of centuries.
Through his novels, Frank Herbert created one of the most detailed and lived-in fictional worlds, comparable only to J.R.R. Tolkien’s world-building for Middle Earth.
The story of Dune: Prophecy takes place about 10,000 years before the events of Dune and the birth of the prophesied Kwisatz Haderach—Paul Atreides.
The show will take inspiration from the book Sisterhood of Dune, written by Herbert’s son Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. The book takes place in the wake of the Butlerian Jihad, which destroys all forms of computers and intelligent technology.
The book follows the eldest children of the Harkonnen family, Griffin, and Valya, who will also inspire the leads in the series. They seek to rebuild their family fortune and name and eventually help in the rise of the Sisterhood, known as the Bene Gesserit in the known universe.
The Bene Gesserit is one of the most powerful forces in Dune. They are like space witches or monks who plot and plan everything meticulously to control their future and influence the universe’s politics and power.
In the first movie, we see Denis Villeneuve’s take on the Bene Gessirit with the Reverend Mother (Charlotte Rampling) and Paul’s mother (Rebecca Ferguson). The series will explore their origin and flesh out their mythology further.
Here is what the official synopsis for the show released by Max says:
“Set 10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides, the hero of the 1965 novel Dune, the series will follow two Harkonnen sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind and establish the fabled sect known as the Bene Gesserit.”
3. Dune: Prophecy Cast and Crew
The cast of the first Dune movie was one of its greatest assets, and Dune: Prophecy is doing the same, amassing an impressive group of actors.
Emily Watson, best known for Punch-Drunk Love and Chornobyl, will portray Valya Harkonnen, a strong woman rising to prominence in the Sisterhood.
The Witcher’s Jodhi May will portray Empress Natalya, who joins hundreds of worlds via her union with the Emperor.
Emperor Javicco Corrino, played by Mark Strong (Shazam!, Sherlock Holmes), is descended from illustrious European leaders and is tasked with ruling the Imperium during the upheaval.
Vikings’ Travis Fimmel has also joined the cast and will play a charismatic warrior who looks to earn the trust of the Emperor at the expense of the Sisterhood.
Olivia Williams (The Sixth Sense) plays Tula Harkonnen, an early member of the House Harkonnen and Bene Gesserit.
Actors Jade Anouka, Chris Mason, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Tabu, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Faoileann Cunningham, Aoife Hinds, and Chloe Lea will also play critical roles in the series.
4. About Dune: Prophecy
Dune: Prophecy is an upcoming American science fiction television series set in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert, for the streaming service Max. Focusing on the origins of the Bene Gesserit, an exclusive and powerful sisterhood who undergo intense physical training and mental conditioning to obtain superhuman abilities, it takes place approximately 10,000 years before the events of Herbert’s novel Dune (1965) and serves as a prequel to Denis Villeneuve’s Dune (2021). The series is produced by Legendary Television, with Alison Schapker serving as showrunner, writer, and executive producer.
During Legendary Entertainment’s 2016 acquisition of television and film rights for the Dune franchise, they began development of a two-part film adaptation with Villeneuve serving as director by 2017. Legendary Television ordered the series in 2019, being a spin-off project from Villeneuve’s films.
Plot: Set 10,000 years before the events of Dune, the series “follows sisters Valya and Tula Harkonnen as they combat forces that threaten the future of humanity, and establish the fabled sect known as the Bene Gesserit.”
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