Official “Dune: Prophecy” Trailer Unveils a Powerful Sisterhood Rising in a Troubled Universe
The official Dune: Prophecy trailer has revealed the expansion of the Dune universe that Denis Villeneuve has reinvigorated in his two masterful films. Prophecy, however, is set 10,000 years before the events depicted in Villeneuve’s films, long before Paul Atreides was leading a rebellion of Fremen against House Harkonnen and eventually the rest of the craven galactic Houses looking to enrich themselves from the resources on Arrakis. Yet that dangerous desert planet, filled with the highly-coveted spice and ruled by the colossal, subterranean gods known as sandworms, will play a big part in Prophecy, a series that sets out to reveal how the immensely powerful and secretive sisterhood known as the Bene Gesserit gained their influence and learned the tricks of their dark trade.
Dune: Prophecy is centered on two Harkonnen sisters, Valya (Emily Watson), a Mother Superior of a school of young priestesses in training, and Tula (Olivia Williams), who go on to found the Bene Gesserit, two later members of which were played so vividly by Rebecca Ferguson and Charlotte Rampling in Villeneuve’s films.
“What was really delicious to me as an actor about coming into this world was that these women are from a truly, truly, recognizably messed-up family,” Watson said at the Dune: Prophecy New York Cinema-Con panel. “They’ve had an awful childhood, and it’s sort of propelled them away. And nothing, nothing in this world is good and bad; everything is compromised and strange, and yet what Valya Harkonnen sets her sights on is really determining the right path for humankind. That’s her ambition.”
The new trailer reveals the dangers ahead for both women as they chart their course through the squabbling powers of the Imperium, including Mark Strong’s Emperor Javicco Corrino and Travis Fimmel’s Desmond Hart, a man committed to wiping the sisters off the face of the planet. Prophecy will give viewers an early look at the Harkonnen family we met as the pale, savage clan in Villeneuve’s films, as well as their longstanding interstellar feud with the Atreides clan. Prophecy is based on the work of Frank Herbert’s son, Brian Herbert, and his co-author, Kevin J. Anderson, in their book “Sisterhood of Dune.”
Watson, Williams, Fimmel and Strong are joined by Travis Fimmel, Jodhi May, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Josh Heuston, Chloe Lea, Jade Anouka, Faoileann Cunningham, Edward Davis, Aoife Hinds, Chris Mason, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Jihae, Tabu, Charithra Chandran, Jessica Barden, Emma Canning, and Yerin Ha.
The series hails from showrunner and executive producer Alison Schapker. Anna Foerster directed multiple episodes, including the all-important pilot, and serves as executive producer. Jordan Goldberg, Mark Tobey, John Cameron, Matthew King, Scott Z. Burns, and Dune and Dune: Part Two screenwriter Jon Spaihts executive produce alongside Brian Herbert. Byron Merritt and Kim Herbert are executive producers for the Frank Herbert estate.
Check out the trailer below. Dune: Prophecy arrives on HBO on November 17.
For more on all things Dune, check out these stories:
The First Teaser for “Dune: Prophecy” Unveils the Powers That Shaped the Dune Universe
Desert Power: The Lasting Success of “Dune: Part Two” & Future Adaptations
Featured image: Jihae as Reverend Mother Kasha. Photograph by Courtesy of HBO
