Why DUNE Prequel Series Might Not Succeed
By Movieguide® Contributor
DUNE fans are getting another peek into Frank Herbert’s universe with the new show DUNE: PROPHECY.
“Set 10,000 years before the birth of Paul Atreides and his rise as the prophesied messiah known as Lisan-al-Gaib, HBO’s new DUNE: PROPHECY series chronicles the early evolution of the Bene Gesserit order from a fledgling school for gifted young women to the superpowered mystical sisterhood that’s pulling the strings of the imperial government at the start of DUNE,” a synopsis reads.
The six-part prequel series takes place in “totally different environments” than Denis Villeneuve’s Timotheé Chalamet-led DUNE movies.
READ MORE: DUNE (2021) REVIEW
“DUNE is a universe that people are attached to. It exists in a world that matters to people, and I think we wanted to respect that,” executive producer Alison Schapker said of the series.
The show is based on the 2012 book “Sisterhood of Dune,” which is the first of the prequel trilogy “Great Schools of Dune,” written by Brian Herbert, Frank Herbert’s son, and Kevin J. Anderson.
However, Schapker noted that viewers won’t need to read the books or have watched the movies to understand what’s going on in the new series.
“That was a real conscious sort of tightrope walk we did,” she said.
Unfortunately, CNN noted that PROPHECY serves “more of an adult audience with some of its more intimate scenes.” What made the movies so successful though — DUNE: PART TWO currently holds the No. 4 spot at the box office for 2024 — was how they explored good versus evil without excessive content.
READ MORE: DUNE: PART TWO REVIEW
Content that refrains from sexual or excessive content will perform better with audiences, as Movieguide®’s Report to the Entertainment Industry found:
…“movies with extreme sexual content didn’t make any money whatsoever in the Top 25 Movies at the Domestic Box Office in 2023.”
Alternatively, films with no explicit sexual nudity in the Top 25 averaged more money than those with some or extremely explicit sexual nudity.
If PROPHECY wants to succeed, it should avoid excessive content.
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