What Is Dune: Prophecy Based On?

Though Frank Herbert is the father of the Dune Universe, several works make up this timeless cosmos. Over a decade after Herbert’s death, his son, Brian, collaborated with the science fiction writer, Kevin J. Anderson on a series of mostly prequels, and in so doing, mapped and expanded the universe and enriched the Dune saga. The duo have co-written a sequence of a trilogy of Dune prequels, two sequels, a collection of short stories, and a graphic novel series. One of their books directly concerns the upcoming HBO series – Dune: Prophecy.

Dune: Prophecy is billed as (and correctly so) a spin-off to Denis Villeneuve’s two-part big-screen adaptation. While it is fairly easy to comprehend that Villeneuve’s Dune Part One and Two covered the series’ first book, i.e., Herbert’s Dune (1965), things get a little tricky with Dune: Prophecy. Since the spin-off to the Dune movies tells a story about the origins of the Sisterhood, it is imperative to talk about the inspiration behind it.

The Profound Worldbuilding Of Dune And The Inspiration Behind HBO’s Dune: Prophecy

Herbert’s seminal work led to an immersive saga, the nuance of which can only be rivaled by J. R. R. Tolkien’s legendarium. Dune has a deep orientalist imprint, and its language, as Herbert tells Timothy O’Reilly in an unpublished 1978 interview (Per O’Reilly) is adapted from “colloquial Arabic.”

In the afterword found in Dune, Herbert (the younger) calls the Dune universe a “spiritual melting pot,” combining various religious beliefs. It brings into play facets of the Islamic belief system, Sufi mysticism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Hinduism. As for the scheming Bene Gesserit, it is a brainchild of Herbert’s 1965 seminal work and a significant one at that. Herbert (the younger) also sheds light on the origin of the Bene Gesserit in the afterword of Dune. He says:

When he was a boy, eight of Dad’s Irish Catholic aunts tried to force Catholicism on him, but he resisted. Instead, this became the genesis of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood.

Herbert (the younger) adds that though the Sisterhood would claim it did not believe in organized religion, the sisters were spiritual nonetheless, just like his parents. Using various examples, Herbert (the younger) posits how his father’s personal life, beliefs, and value systems shaped the Dune universe.

The Wealth Of Dune Novels

From Sisterhood of Dune To Dune: Prophecy

Herbert (the elder) wrote a total of 6 novels in the Dune Chronicles. After he died in 1986, Herbert (the younger) found his unpublished works, notes, and outlines which he and Anderson used as supplementary material to keep the Dune saga going. They co-wrote the other 17 novels in the Dune Chronicles, bringing the total up to 23.

The original works, written by Herbert (the elder) are:

• Dune (1965)
• Dune Messiah (1969)
• Children of Dune (1976)
• God Emperor of Dune (1981)
• Heretics of Dune (1984)
• Chapterhouse: Dune (1985)

Thirteen years after the death of Herbert (the elder), Herbert (the younger) and Anderson expanded the Dune universe by collaborating on the first of The Prelude to Dune trilogy, namely House Atreides, which is set 35 years before Dune. This novel was followed by:

• Dune: House Harkonnen (2000)
• Dune: House Corrino (2001)

Herbert (the younger) and Anderson continued on a sequence of prequel trilogies with Legends of Dune [The Butlerian Jihad (2002), The Machine Crusade (2003), and The Battle of Corrin (2004)], Heroes of Dune [Paul of Dune (2008), The Winds of Dune (2009), Princess of Dune (2023)] and most importantly, Great Schools of Dune which is a sequel trilogy to Legends of Dune. The first in the Great Schools of Dune series, i.e., Sisterhood of Dune serves as an inspiration for the HBO spin-off.

The series consists of books, namely:

Sisterhood of Dune (2012)

Mentats of Dune (2014)

Navigators of Dune (2016)

Dune: The Battle of Corrin (Published in the year 2004) takes place over 10,000 years before the coming of Paul Atreides to Arrakis, i.e., the events of Villeneuve’s Dune: Part One. Dune: The Battle of Corrin covers the thinking machines’ attempt to wipe out the last of humanity. Sisterhood of Dune is set almost a hundred years after the events of The Battle of Corrin, when the Army of Humanity wiped out the thinking machine armies of Omnius. Sisterhood of Dune sees the beginnings of the eponymous fabled sect in the aftermath of the Butlerian Jihad.

You wish to serve the Great Houses and shape the flow of power. You must first exert power over yourself.

The heroic Bene Gesserit does get screentime in Villeneuve’s Dune, but the foundation of the Sisterhood, its motives, goals, and plans will be detailed in the spin-off. Dune: Prophecy marks a screen-to-streaming transition, resembling the path taken by The Penguin vis a vis Matt Reeves’ BatVerse.

What Does HBO’s Dune: Prophecy Say About Bene Gesserit?

The official logline of the prequel series succinctly states:

Set 10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides, Dune: Prophecy follows two Harkonnen sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind, and establish the fabled sect that will become known as the Bene Gesserit.

The Matriarchal Order is at the center stage of the thrilling tale that is Dune: Prophecy. As seen in various trailers, the Sisterhood is given depth and appears to be tying all the factions and characters. Before it even took the name Bene Gesserit, the Sisterhood spoke of the need to establish a sect, with Jessica Barden’s younger version of Valya Harkonnen at the forefront.

“…playing god,” creating “a network of influence throughout the Imperium…” the good of the Imperium, and the price of power are a few of the themes Dune: Prophecy touches on.