HBO’s “Dune” Prequel Series Gets New Title & Release Date

While we’ll be eagerly awaiting Dune: Part Two to hit theaters on March 15, 2024, it’s not the only story coming to the screen that’s based on “Dune” author Frank Herbert’s rich, complex sci-fi world. A prequel series for HBO, previously titled Dune: The Sisterhood, has been in the works for some time. Now, according to IGN, HBO has confirmed that the official title for the new series is Dune: Prophecy, and we can expect it in 2024 as well.

Dune: Prophecy will be set some 10,000 years before the events in Dune and will focus on the mysterious sisterhood of the Bene Gesserit, members of whom included Rebecca Ferugson’s Lady Jessica Atreides and Charlotte Rampling’s Reverend Mother Mohiam from Denis Villeneuve’s Part One. It was Mother Mohiam who famously forces Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) to put his hand in a box while holding a lethally poisonous Gom Jabbar to his neck, essentially torturing him, a potentially fatal test to see if Paul is worthy. Such is the mysterious power of the Bene Gesserit that a mother as fierce and protective as Lady Jessica would allow her son to endure this hell.

Dune: Prophecy began filming back in November 2022, and IGN reports we will likely see it in Fall 2024. The cast includes Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, Indira Varma, Travis Fimmel, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Faoileann Cunningham, Aoife Hinds, and Chloe Lea. It’s important to note that none of these actors is a part of SAG-AFTRA, so production has not had to shut down.

Prophecy will explore the origins of Bene Gesserit, with sisters Valya (Emily Watson) and Tula Harkonnen (Olivia Williams) at the very center of the action. You might find their last name familiar—they are, indeed, from House Harkonnen, the despotic despoilers of Dune who killed Duke Atreides (Oscar Isaac) in the first film and started a war with House Atreides.

So, it looks like 2024 will be the year of Dune, with director Denis Villeneuve’s Part Two bringing his ambitious adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel to a stunning conclusion, while Dune: Prophecy expands the world and the timeline of one of the greatest sci-fi stories ever told.

For more on the world of Dune, check out these stories:

“Dune: Part Two” Official Trailer Reveals Love, War, & Christoper Walken’s Emperor Shaddam IV

First “Dune: Part Two” Images Reveal First Look at Austin Butler’s Villain

“Dune: Part II” Trailer Unveils Stunning Look at Conclusion of Denis Villeneuve’s Epic Adaptation

First “Dune: Part Two” Teaser Reveals Paul Atreides Summoning a Sandworm

Featured image: Caption: REBECCA FERGUSON as Lady Jessica in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ action adventure “DUNE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures