DUNE: PROPHECY Questions Who Should Have Power in Society
By Movieguide® Contributor
New information was shared about the upcoming HBO/Max show DUNE: PROPHECY including the major themes and questions that the series will focus on.
“[The team has been] writing a show that’s concerned with power and truth and stories, and what does it mean to have charismatic leaders. Is that something to be followed; something to be suspicious of? DUNE raises all kinds of questions about how power operates in the light, but also how it operates in the shadows,” showrunner Alison Schapker said during a panel at New York Comic Con.
The show takes place 10,000 years before the events of DUNE and follows humanity as it rebuilds from a major war that led to the outlawing of computers and AI. The series will specifically focus on two Harkonnen sisters who continue to fight for the future of humanity as they combat a dark power.
READ MORE: DUNE: PROPHECY MOVES TO HBO AS PART OF ‘REBRAND’ STRATEGY
While the series is not explicitly linked to Denis Villeneuve’s ongoing DUNE movie trilogy, those working on the project know it has the movies to thank for much of the show’s hype and also a high bar set for what the DUNE universe looks like. However, because the show takes place 10,000 years earlier, the showrunners have room for their own creativity beyond what has been established by Villeneuve.
“The sisterhood certainly has a prominent public place, and they have these jobs as truthsayers. They’re in the halls of power, they’re teaching girls, and insinuating themselves into noble families. But they’re also pulling strings behind the scenes,” Schapker said. “That certainly speaks to every time period and highlights some questions we all can be asking of power at any given moment, including today.”
“In the films, they’re very much in their full power, and they’re making their moves, but they’re cloaked in a kind of mystique,” she continued. “One of the great things about this series is we certainly don’t want to take away their mystique, but we do go behind their closed doors and kind of see how they operate.”
DUNE: PROPHECY will debut on HBO and Max on November 15th.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Max Originals THE PENGUIN and DUNE: PROPHECY have been moved to HBO as part of a new rebranding strategy from Warner Bros. Discovery.
“We felt like we had to delineate between an HBO show and a Max show,” HBO and Max content CEO Casey Bloys explained. “The idea of using Warner Bros. IP as a delineation for Max felt right. At least that gives you a clear lane. But as we started producing those shows, we were using the same methods, the same kind of thinking, as how we would approach HBO shows. In a lot of cases, the same talent that has worked on HBO shows.”
THE PENGUIN will focus on Batman villain The Penguin, played by Colin Farrell, who is reprising his role from 2022’s THE BATMAN.
DUNE: PROPHECY “follows two Harkonnen sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind, and establish the fabled sect that will become known as the Bene Gesserit,” per Deadline.
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