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New Dune: Prophecy Trailer Confirms Return to Arrakis

Published

1 month ago

October 18, 2024

Christoph Rediske

Key Takeaways

Table of Contents

Dune: Prophecy explores the Bene Gesserit’s roots, set 10,000 years before Dune movies.
The budget of Dune: Prophecy is on par with the movies, maintaining Villeneuve’s style.
New trailer reveals brewing war between great houses, introduces key players & confirms premiere on Nov. 17, 2024.

Nearly six months after Dune: Part Two dominated cinemas, audiences are set to return to Frank Herbert’s sci-fi world in Dune: Prophecy. The HBO series is set thousands of years before the events of Villeneuve’s Dune movies, but a new trailer promises the series will be no less epic.

Dune: Prophecy (previously titled Dune: The Sisterhood) comes from Altered Carbon and Westworld writer Alison Schapker and adapts material from Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s Sisterhood of Dune prequel novel. The TV series follows two Harkonnen sisters, Valya (Emily Watson) and Tula (Olivia Williams), who go on to establish the mysterious sect known as the Bene Gesserit. In the Dune movies, Paul Atreides’ mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) is a known member of the Bene Gesserit who, by that time, had become a powerful and influential group with ties to many of the great houses. Dune: Prophecy will explore the roots of the mysterious sisterhood as well as the origins of the Kwisatz Haderach prophecy.

The Key Characters And Cast Of Dune: Prophecy, Explained

Which actors are on board to bring Dune: Prophecy characters to life?

HBO Releases New Dune: Prophecy Trailer

A new trailer for Dune: Prophecy was released on YouTube following its premiere at New York Comic-Con. The footage sets up a brewing war between the great houses and sees Valya and Tula scheme to secure the throne and protect the Imperium. Mark Strong’s Emperor Javicco Corrino is the reigning ruler, who must maintain peace in an Imperium “surrounded by vipers”. Corrino mentions a pivotal location in the trailer, claiming that a key goal of his is to maintain control of Arrakis, which confirms the iconic planet from the Dune movies will be a part of the new series. A few of Arrakis’ giant sandworms can also be spotted in the trailer.

Another key player in Dune: Prophecy is Travis Fimmel’s Desmond Hart, a soldier who warns the Emperor of the Gene Besserit’s power plays, describing it as a war “hidden in plain sight.” Desmond will clearly be an antagonist for the Harkonnen sisters throughout the series as he rallies a force intent on wiping out the sisterhood. Glimpses of new characters played by Jodhi May, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Chris Mason, Josh Heuston, Tabu, and Shalom Brune-Franklin, were also revealed in the new footage. Finally, the trailer confirmed the release date for Dune: Prophecy to be November 17, 2024, which places its premiere a week after the finale of The Penguin.

The sisterhood draws women from many worlds to advance our species and govern the future – Valya Harkonnen

One big takeaway from the Dune: Prophecy trailer is that the budget of the series is seemingly on par with that of the movies. The series is set 10,000 years before the events of the Dune movies but is clearly intent on maintaining the style and world that Villenueve established. The visual effects in Dune: Prophecy match the quality of those in Dune: Part One and Dune: Part Two, and the series also shares a similar costume, tone, and style. The next movie in Villenueve’s film series is set to be Dune: Messiah, but with the release of that film still years away, Dune: Prophecy will no doubt be able to satisfy fans while they wait.

Dune: Prophecy will premiere on Max on November 17, 2024.

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Dune

Based on the novel by Frank Herbert, Dune follows the story of Paul Atreides played by Timothée Chalamet, whose family take control of a planet that holds the key to faster than light travel, and certain mental powers. This futuristic fantasy world is rife with politics, religion, wars and betrayals, as empires and factions fight for control over the planet.

Release Date: October 22, 2021
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Cast: Dave Bautista , Rebecca Ferguson , Sharon Duncan-Brewster , Jason Momoa , David Dastmalchian , Stephen McKinley Henderson , Stellan Skarsgård , Charlotte Rampling , Chang Chen , Oscar Isaac , Zendaya , Javier Bardem , Timothee Chalamet , Josh Brolin
Runtime: 155 minutes
Writers: Frank Herbert , Eric Roth , Denis Villeneuve , Jon Spaihts
Studio(s): Legendary Pictures
Distributor(s): Warner Bros. Pictures