By HBO is going back to Arrakis with its upcoming TV series “Dune: Prophecy,” a prequel set 10,000 years before the events of Frank Herbert’s novel and Denis Villeneuve’s film adaptation and follows the origins of the Bene Gesserit order.
The series was greenlit in 2019 and famously underwent a creative overhaul a few months into filming with the showrunner being replaced and some of the cast overhauled.
Filming resumed and wrapped nearly a year ago in Budapest, the series opting not to use StageCraft virtual production technology in favor of practical sets and costly production values.
Though Villeneuve or the film’s writer Jon Spaihts aren’t involved in the project, executive producer Jordan Goldberg tells Empire the new show is definitely set “in the same universe” as the films. He adds the tone and designs of the film impacted what they do here, but as a series they get to play around a bit more with genre:
“We feel like we have to follow the essence of what Denis has done. He set the tone. Along with the political intrigue, there’s a great deal of espionage. A great deal of action and adventure. There’s a romance. And what’s really exciting to me is we also get to do a lot of horror stuff.”
Co-showrunner Alison Schapker explains that despite being set millennia before the films, the tech seen in the series will be relatively comparable to the films and for good reason:
“During the Machine Wars, humans fought against computers and artificial intelligence and all the kinds of things we’re rushing headlong to develop today. Dune imagines what it would be like if the worst-case scenario happened and humans had to rebuild after almost coming to the brink of extinction. So technology is stagnated, computers are forbidden. You get a kind of neo-feudal-meets-sci-fi futurism that offers an incredible texture.”
The six-part streaming 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.
Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, Travis Fimmel, Mark Strong, Jade Anouka, Chris Mason, Jodhi May, Josh Heuston and Tabu co-star.
“Dune: Prophecy” is scheduled to premiere on HBO, Max and Sky on November 17th.
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