Since Dune became an underground hit novel in the late 1960s, fans have wondered how the saga might be rendered on screen.
And, now, several film adaptations later, one persistent question continues to be floated: What if the larger story of the Dune mythos would be better served as a TV series instead of a series of films?
The first trailer for the upcoming Dune TV series — Dune: Prophecy, seems to answer this question with a big yes.
1. Dune: Prophecy Trailer Breakdown
The new trailer, the first that has been revealed to the general public establishes that this series will be set 10,000 years before the birth of Paul Atreides and focus on the various schemes of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood.
During development, the series was originally named Dune: The Sisterhood, and then later it was changed to Dune: Prophecy. As explained in Dune: Part Two (as well as the original novels), the Bene Gesserit engage in a multi-century scheme to implant different planets with religious myths and dogmas that can, in turn, be exploited politically by their successors in Sisterhood generation after generation.
In other words, Paul and his mother are known as the “Lisan al Gaib” because the Bene Gesserit, whom we’ll meet in Dune: Prophecy, planted that myth on Arrakis 10,000 years prior.
2. Is Dune going the Game of Thrones way?
Perhaps the most interesting thing about the first Dune: Prophecy trailer is that the show seems to be focused on how the Bene Gesserit are manipulating the power within the Imperium.
In the trailer, we’re told that there will be a “Sister” on the throne, meaning that one of the Bene Gesserit members is entering into a political marriage to be, in essence, Empress of the Universe.
As played intensely by Emily Watson, Valya Harkonnen is at the center of all of this and seems to be taking the role of the Reverend Mother at this point in the timeline. Meanwhile, Mark Strong has a big presence in this trailer as Emperor Javicco Corrino, the ancestor of Shaddam Corrino from the time frame of the first book.
Harkonnens may not all be like they are in the films, and House Corrino may be rendered less conniving.
The promise of Dune: Prophecy, in a way, is to subvert our expectations about these bloodlines and surprise us with how we might feel about each of the stereotypes of the Great Houses.
And, by fully embracing the feudal aspects of Dune’s politics, this next big sci-fi show from Max seems to be borrowing a strategy from the HBO playbook: If you’re going to do complex politics with fantasy stakes, Game of Thrones is the easy comparison.
And, because Dune invented a lot of the basic set-up for Game of Thrones, having a Dune show feel like Westeros is like the genre coming full circle.
It’s unclear if Dune: Prophecy can become a crossover hit like the new Dune films or Game of Thrones. But based on this early glimpse, it certainly looks poised to try.
Dune: Prophecy will stream on Max in the fall of 2024.
3. About Dune Prophecy
Dune Prophecy is a direct-to-streaming TV series in development at HBO Max. Diane Ademu-John had joined the series as writer, showrunner, and executive producer. Denis Villeneuve will direct the series pilot and executive produce.
The series will serve as a prequel to the film and will take place before Dune: Part One. Set in Frank Herbert’s Dune universe, Dune: The Sisterhood is told through the eyes of a mysterious order of women known as the Bene Gesserit.
Given extraordinary abilities by their mastery of the body and the mind, the Bene Gesserit expertly weave through the feudal politics and intrigue of The Imperium, pursuing plans of their own that will ultimately lead them to the enigmatic planet Arrakis, known to its inhabitants as Dune.
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