Dune: Prophecy

Set 10,000 years before the events of Dune, the series commences 80 years after an alliance of humans defeated the thinking machine armies that had nearly exterminated them. Sisters Valya and Tula Harkonnen struggle to maintain the power and influence of the Sisterhood, and combat forces that threaten the future of humanity. The story sheds light on the origins of the Sisterhood (later known as the Bene Gesserit), their rise to power and influence in the Imperium, as well as their personal struggles, conflicts, and battle against a prophesied enemy, while at the same time delving into key historical aspects of the Dune universe, such as the roots of the Harkonnen and Atreides families. == Cast and characters ==

Main • Emily Watson as Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen, leader of the Sisterhood Guest • Cathy Tyson as Mother Superior Raquella Berto-Anirul, founder of the Sisterhood • Brendan Cowell as Duke Ferdinand Richese • Hannah Khalique-Brown as Sister Farouz, an acolyte with an eye for Constantine Corrino • Flora Montgomery as Reverend Mother Vera, Truthsayer of House Richese • Laura Howard as Duchess Orla Richese • Tessa Bonham Jones as Lady Shannon Richese • Charlie Hodson-Prior as Lord Pruwet Richese • Sam Spruell as Horace, a member of a rebellion against the Great Houses • Karima McAdams as Sister Nazir, a Suk doctor previously trained by the Sisterhood • Polly Walker as Sonia Harkonnen, Valya and Tula's mother • Earl Cave as Griffin Harkonnen, Valya and Tula's brother • Milo Callaghan as Orry Atreides • David Bark-Jones as Vergyl Harkonnen, Valya and Tula's father • Archie Barnes as Albert, the only survivor of Tula's massacre of the Atreides • Tanya Moodie as the Voice of Anirul, the Sisterhood's secret artificial intelligence • Lucy Russell as the Truthsayer of House Gbangbala • Sarah Lam as the Truthsayer of House Hagal • Nicola Alexis as the Truthsayer of House Yaofirks == Episodes ==

Development In November 2016, Legendary Entertainment had acquired the film and television rights for the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert from his estate. Legendary eventually contacted Denis Villeneuve to direct a two-part film adaptation of the novel by the next month, and was confirmed as director by February 2017. Legendary Television announced a full series order of Dune: The Sisterhood in June 2019, produced for WarnerMedia's then-streaming service HBO Max. The series would focus on the Bene Gesserit order and serve as a prequel to Villeneuve's 2021 film Dune, based on material from Dune and the 2012 prequel novel Sisterhood of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Villeneuve was set to direct and produce the series' pilot with Jon Spaihts writing the screenplay. Both would serve as executive producers alongside Byron Merritt, Kim Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, and Herbert's son, Brian. Villeneuve said, "The Bene Gesserit have always been fascinating to me. Focusing a series around that powerful order of women seemed not only relevant and inspiring but a dynamic setting for the television series." Shortly after its announcement, the project received criticism for its lack of female creatives except for Herbert's granddaughter, Kim Herbert. Dana Calvo was hired in July 2019 to serve as showrunner alongside Spaihts. In November 2019, Spaihts left the series to focus on Dune: Part Two (2024). The Hollywood Reporter reported that Legendary Television was "not happy" with Spaihts's early work as showrunner and opted to remove him. As production of Dune: Part Two progressed, Villeneuve was no longer able to direct and was replaced by Johan Renck as director for the first two episodes in April 2022. Shortly after production began, Diane Ademu-John had exited the project as co-showrunner but remained the executive producer; this left Alison Schapker as the sole showrunner. In February 2023, Renck also exited the project, resulting in the project being on hiatus. He was replaced that June by Anna Foerster, who would direct multiple episodes, including the pilot. In November 2023, the series was retitled Dune: Prophecy and set to release on Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming service, Max. In November 2024, Schapker explained that the series would explore multiple time periods, with the characters' pasts adapted from the Great Schools of Dune novel trilogy, and the present timeline original to the television series. In December 2024, HBO renewed the series for a second season. Casting In October 2022, Emily Watson, Shirley Henderson, Indira Varma, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Faoileann Cunningham, Aoife Hinds, and Chloe Lea were cast to star in the series. Travis Fimmel joined the cast the following month. On December 1, 2022, Mark Strong, Jade Anouka, and Chris Mason joined the cast in starring roles. Josh Heuston and Edward Davis would join in recurring roles later that month. During Renck's exit in February 2023, Henderson had also left. Jihae was cast as Reverend Mother Kasha, the Emperor's Truthsayer, and Jessica Barden was cast as the younger version of Valya. The younger versions of Tula, Francesca and Kasha are portrayed by Emma Canning, Charithra Chandran and Yerin Ha, respectively. Mark Addy plays Evgeny Harkonnen, Valya and Tula's uncle. In November 2025, Indira Varma, Ashley Walters, and Tom Hollander were announced to have joined the cast for the second season. Filming The series was originally scheduled to start filming on November 2, 2020, in Budapest and Jordan. It began production on November 22, 2022, under the working title Dune: The Sisterhood, with Renck confirming the start on his Instagram account. In July 2023, Deadline Hollywood reported that, following a winter hiatus, production was set to resume in Budapest amidst the WGA and SAG strikes due to the series' talent working under the UK-based union Equity. Filming had concluded by December 2023, with Pierre Gill having served as lead cinematographer. Gill did not use the StageCraft virtual production technology, which he had previously utilized in the television series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, as the production primarily relied on practical sets and production values. Principal photography for the second season began in November 2025 in Hungary, Jordan, and Spain Music Jónsi was originally hired to compose the show's score. However, by October 2023, Volker Bertelmann was set to compose the score for the series. Marketing Max released a teaser trailer for the series on May 15, 2024. A second teaser was released on July 18, 2024. On October 17, 2024, the official trailer was unveiled during a panel at New York Comic Con. == Release ==

Originally announced to premiere on the streaming service Max, The first season premiered on HBO and Max on November 17, 2024. It was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and UHD Blu-ray in May 2025. The second season is set to premiere in 2026. ==Reception==

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 65% approval rating with an average rating of 6.4/10, based on 98 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Grounded by reliably terrific performances from Emily Watson and Olivia Williams, Dune: Prophecy lacks the spice of Denis Villeneuve's films but compensates with addictively perilous palace intrigue." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 64 out of 100 based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. The premiere of Dune: Prophecy drew 1.2 million U.S. viewers across platforms, with the audience growing another 75% the following day, bringing the total to 2.1 million viewers. As of December 19, 2024, the number of viewers surpassed 10 million, when "according to HBO, the premiere episode of the series raked in about 15 million viewers across Max's covered territories". Awards and nominations ==References==