Ahead of the sci-fi sequel Dune 3 comes the series Dune: Prophecy. As a prequel to the film series, it revolves around the protracted plans of the mysterious Bene Gesserit order
After the science fiction blockbusters Dune and Dune: Part Two by director Denis Villeneuve, the fantastic world penned by Frank Herbert is to be expanded with the TV series Dune: Prophecy (formerly Dune: The Sisterhood).
This is a prequel about the origins of the Bene Gesserit, set long before Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and Chani (Zendaya). In the film series, Paul’s mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) is a member of the scheming order.
We will keep you up to date on all developments here until the start of the series. Here you will find all information about the coming months:
Release date
Streaming service
Story and book template
Cast
Trailer
The creatives behind the problematic production
When and where will the series Dune: Prophecy be shown?
Dune: Prophecy is a WarnerMedia production from Legendary Television that will premiere on the US channel Max (formerly HBO Max). This is scheduled to happen with a slight delay in fall 2024. In Germany, Sky/WOW is actually the home of HBO formats, but most of Max’s series have so far ended up on RTL+.
It remains to be seen whether the Dune series can keep to the schedule for this year. The project is rumored to be a production plagued by problems with a lot of trouble and personnel swaps behind the scenes
What is Dune: Prophecy about and what is the series based on?
About 10,000 years before the events of Dune, two sisters of House Harkonnen set out to fight forces that threaten the future of humanity. To this end, they establish the Bene Gesserit sect to create a super being called Kwisatz Haderach through mental training and targeted manipulation of bloodlines over generations.
(Dune)
The series is based, at least in part, on the novel Sisterhood of Dune aka The Throne of the Desert Planet. This was no longer written by Frank Herbert, but by his son Brian Herbert in collaboration with co-author Kevin J. Anderson and was only published in 2012 – many years after the death of the Dune creator in 1986.
Who plays which role in Dune: Prophecy?
Emily Watson and Olivia Williams as Valya and Tula Harkonnen: Influential members of a female secret organization and founders of the Order of the Bene Gesserit. (Tula was to be played by Shirley Henderson before the recasting).
Jodhi May as Empress Natalya: Through her marriage to Emperor Corrino, she united countless houses in the universe. (The role was originally supposed to be played by Indira Varma, who had to drop out due to scheduling issues).
Mark Strong as Emperor Javicco Corrino: As a member of a great house of war-tested emperors, he assumed the throne of the galactic empire.
Sarah-Sofie Boussnina as Princess Ynez: An independent young woman who has to struggle with a lot of responsibility as heir to the throne.
Shalom Brune-Franklin as Mikaela: A strong-willed Fremen woman in the service of the Imperial House who longs for her home planet of Arrakis, where she has never been.
Travis Fimmel as Desmond Hart: A charismatic soldier with a mysterious past who wants to win the Emperor’s trust.
Faoileann Cunningham as Sister Jen: A boisterous acolyte of the Sisterhood who rarely shows emotion.
Chris Mason as Keiran Atreides: A master swordsman of House Atreides who forms an unexpected bond with the Imperial family.
Aoife Hinds as Sister Emeline: An ambitious member of the sisterhood. She is very religious and comes from a family of martyrs.
Chloe Lee as Lila: The youngest and most empathetic aspirant at the sisterhood.
Other supporting roles include Josh Heuston as the emperor’s illegitimate son Constantine Corrino, Edward Davis as ambitious politician Harrow Harkonnen and Indian superstar Tabu as Sister Francesca, the emperor’s former great love.
Is there already a trailer for Dune: Prophecy by Max?
Yes, a first teaser trailer was released during the upfronts presentation of Warner Bros. Discovery in May 2024. The preview announces Dune: Prophecy for fall 2024. The strong focus on the sisterhood shows that the series was supposed to be called Dune: The Sisterhood shortly before
Who is working on Dune: Prophecy and why is it taking so long to produce?
The sci-fi series has been in development since 2019 and has had a turbulent production history. Originally, the Dune Dream Team, consisting of director Villeneuve and screenwriter Jon Spaihts, was supposed to at least get the series pilot off the ground. As hardly any women had been involved in the project up to that point (which seemed strange given the series’ subject matter), Dana Calvo was brought on board to act as co-showrunner alongside Spaihts.
However, Legendary Teleivision had other ideas and so Diane Ademu-John was hired as the new showrunner. At this point, Villeneuve no longer had time due to his work on Dune: Part Two and was replaced by Johan Renck, who was supposed to contribute the first two episodes. However, the replacement team left the project shortly afterwards due to creative differences.
(Dune)
For some episodes, including the series pilot, Anna Foerster then took over as director and Alison Schapker inherited the position of head writer. Brian and Kim Herbert, the son and granddaughter of the Dune creator, are among the executive producers
