Dune: Prophecy Dives into the Foundation of Dune

Eight months after Dune: Part 2 released in theaters, Dune: Prophecy made its highly anticipated debut on television screens around the world. The pilot episode was released on HBO Max on November 17, 2024.

Dune: Prophecy is based on Sisterhood of Dune, a novel written by Brian Herbert, son of Dune creator Frank Herbert. The series takes place over ten thousand years before the events of Dune and Dune: Part 2, and follows the story of the creation of the Bene Gesserit, an all-female convent of nun-esque fantastical physicians trained to control their biology beyond natural limits, and one of the dominant factions in the Dune universe. 

We follow these ladies, as well as members of the imperial royal family, as the schemes of the Bene Gesserit are challenged by Desmond Hart, a member of the Imperial Army who plots to wrest control of the empire from the sisterhood.

Understanding what’s going on in Dune isn’t always the easiest thing to do. Fortunately, Dune: Prophecy takes a step back from the story and characters introduced in the movies and attempts to provide context to the greater Dune cannon, which newer fans will appreciate.

As a television series, Dune: Prophecy’s longer run-time allows for more story elements that weren’t touched on in the films. This will become useful later down the line, especially in the next movie in the Dune series, Dune: Messiah, which uses of concepts that weren’t introduced in the movies as important story-elements. 

As an avid Dune fan, I found the show enjoyable. It had a very “Dune” feeling to it, which is best described as: very tense, but not action-packed. Fitting of a series that puts a focus on the manipulative Bene Gesserit, the dialogue in most scenes is just as powerful as the actions characters take, and really captures the frantic political scene of the Dune universe with plots that escalate in risk every episode.

Overall, I really liked seeing the new elements of the Dune universe that Dune: Prophecy introduced. There is much more to Dune than what we see in the movies, and it was nice to have a show that focused almost entirely on world-building, while also delivering a compelling storyline and setting up the millenia-long feud between House Atreides and House Harkonnen. 

If you’re not a fan of the recent Dune films, you probably won’t like Dune: Prophecy. But, if they caught your attention and you liked them, it's definitely worth watching to learn more about the foundation of Dune.