Prophecy Last? What The Producers Had To Say

“Dune: Part Two” remains one of the best blockbusters of the year, a brilliant piece of filmmaking about religion, revenge, and big worms. As good as the movie is, however, it leaves out a lot of the worldbuilding and context that makes the source material by Frank Herbert so special, such as the exact reason why the spice is so important to controlling the universe, how the Bene Gesserit gained so much power and influence, and what exactly mentats do.

That’s where “Dune: Prophecy” comes in. Previously titled “Dune: The Sisterhood,” the HBO prequel series is set 10,000 years before the events of Herbert’s original novel, telling the story of how the Bene Gesserit order was created in the aftermath of the Butlerian Jihad (in which “thinking machines” were wiped out and banned). Given just how absurdly long the time gap between the series and the “Dune” movies is, there is plenty of room for “Dune: Prophecy” to cover. But just how long can the series actually go on for? And will we ever get to the point where it connects directly to Denis Villeneuve’s first “Dune” film?

During a press event attended by /Film, executive producer Jordan Goldberg talked about wanting to do more seasons of the show to “keep these characters in the story.” “There’s so many things to touch upon in this universe,” Goldberg said. “I’m hoping we can go as long as we can. I mean, the show is called ‘Dune: Prophecy,’ so we’re just getting started really about how all this comes to be 10,000 years later with Paul Atreides.”

Despite previously being titled “The Sisterhood” and based primarily on the book “Sisterhood of Dune,” “Dune: Prophecy” won’t just track the origin of the Bene Gesserit. Instead, as executive producer and showrunner Alien Schapker explained, the scope of the series changed during its development. As such, “Dune: Prophecy” is now set to chart not only the origins of the Bene Gesserit, but also the origins of “this imperium at this younger moment, at this fragile moment, coming out of the wars, rebuilding.” This includes telling a story about the Imperial family, and also one about Arrakis.

Perhaps more importantly, Schapker teased that future seasons will look at the other books in the “Great Schools of Dune” trilogy and visit other schools that rose in the wake of the Butlerian Jihad — like the Mentat school and the Suk school. These are hugely important to the story of “Dune,” yet they were all but ignored in Villeneuve’s first two “Dune” movies. Still, the problem with “Dune” as an expansive universe is that the world outside of the Paul Atreides story is ever-moving, yet also kind of stagnant until he shows up and ruins everyone’s plans. The narrative is so centered on how he and his family change history that to explore the gaps before his ascendancy could easily fall into unnecessary and over-explainy prequel territory. Still, seeing as Villeneuve’s next “Dune” movie may set up future book adaptations, there’s a chance “Dune: Prophecy” will allow audiences to better get to know and care about the other houses not named Atreides — making their eventual downfall hit all the harder.

“Dune: Prophecy” premieres on HBO and Max on Sunday, November 17, 2024.