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In the first TV teaser for Dune: Prophecy, the Bene Gesserit begin their ascent into the universe’s most famous group of societal manipulators 10,000 years before the events of Dune.
The moody teaser, within Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, opens with two Harkonnen sisters, Valya (Emily Watson) and Tula (Olivia Williams). Amidst growing tensions between House Harkonnen and House Atreides, the sisters become instrumental in reshaping the Sisterhood into the Bene Gesserit, a group of master manipulators intent on shaping the universe to their will.
But will their machinations get the better of them, and threaten to unseat the very fabric of society as we know it?
Dune: Prophecy (2024) – source: MAX
While the teaser leans extensively on grand visuals, rivaling its big-screen counterpart on a TV budget, the true star of the trailer is Watson, whose brief appearances as Valya show a mixture of sociopathic calm and fiery resolution.
The trailer’s intrigue grows as narration highlights how the Bene Gesserit plans to worm its way into the ears of the universe’s most powerful.
If, like me, you grew up a huge Dune fan, this trailer quelled your fears that Dune: Prophecy would water down the nuance of the Bene Gesserit’s story. If the series can capture the magic of Atreides palace intrigue (“plans within plans within plans within plans”), we could be in for a truly high-quality piece of television.
Dune: Prophecy will be released worldwide on MAX this fall, and stars Emily Watson & Olivia Williams leading the ensemble cast.
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