Dune: Prophecy

Last updated

Dune: Prophecy
Genre
Created byDiane Ademu-John [1]
Based on
Starring
Music by Volker Bertelmann
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
Producer Kevin J. Anderson
Production locations
Production companies
Original release
Network Max

Dune: Prophecy is an upcoming American science fiction television series set in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert, for the streaming service Max. Focusing on the origins of the Bene Gesserit, an exclusive and powerful sisterhood who undergo intense physical training and mental conditioning to obtain superhuman abilities, it takes place approximately 10,000 years before the events of Herbert's novel Dune (1965) and serves as a prequel to Denis Villeneuve's Dune (2021). The series is produced by Legendary Television, with Alison Schapker serving as showrunner, writer, and executive producer.

Contents

During Legendary Entertainment's 2016 acquisition of television and film rights for the Dune franchise, they began development of a two-part film adaptation with Villeneuve serving as director by 2017. Legendary Television ordered the series in 2019, being a spin-off project from Villeneuve's films. Various creative figures have joined by 2019, and following creative overhauls, Schapker became the show-runner with Anna Foerster serving as director for multiple episodes by June 2023. Meanwhile, casting took place from November 2022 to June 2023. Filming began by November 2022 in Budapest and Jordan and wrapped by December 2023.

It is scheduled to premiere on Max in late 2024.

Premise

Set 10,000 years before the events of Dune, the series follows sisters Valya and Tula Harkonnen as they combat forces that threaten the future of humanity, and establish the fabled sect known as the Bene Gesserit. [2]

Cast

Main

Recurring

Production

Development

In November 2016, Legendary Entertainment had acquired the film and television rights for the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert from his estate. [8] [9] Legendary eventually contacted Denis Villeneuve to direct a two-part film adaptation of the novel by the next month, and was confirmed as director by February 2017. [10] [11] Legendary Television announced a full series order of Dune: The Sisterhood in June 2019, produced for WarnerMedia's then-streaming service HBO Max. [12] [13] [14] The series would focus on the Bene Gesserit order and serve as a prequel to Villeneuve's Dune (2021). [15] Villeneuve was set to direct and produce the series' pilot with Jon Spaihts writing the screenplay. Both would serve as executive producers alongside Byron Merritt, Kim Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, and Herbert's son, Brian. [16] [17] Villeneuve said, "The Bene Gesserit have always been fascinating to me. Focusing a series around that powerful order of women seemed not only relevant and inspiring but a dynamic setting for the television series." [18]

Shortly after its announcement, the project received criticism for its lack of female creatives except for Herbert's granddaughter, Kim Herbert. [19] [20] Dana Calvo was hired in July 2019 to serve as showrunner alongside Spaihts. [21] [22] In November 2019, Spaihts left the series to focus on Dune: Part Two (2024). [23] [24] The Hollywood Reporter reported that Legendary Television was "not happy" with Spaihts's early work as showrunner and opted to remove him. [23] Diane Ademu-John had been hired as the new showrunner by July 2021. [25] [26] As production of Dune: Part Two progressed, Villeneuve was no longer able to direct and replaced by Johan Renck as director for the first two episodes in April 2022. [27] Shortly after production began, Diane Ademu-John had exited the project as co-showrunner but remained the executive producer; this left Alison Schapker as the sole showrunner. [28] In February 2023, Renck also exited the project, resulting in the project being on hiatus. [4] He was replaced by Anna Foerster that June, who would direct multiple episodes, including the pilot. [29] In November 2023, the series was retitled Dune: Prophecy and set to release on WarnerMedia's new streaming service, Max. [30] [31]

Casting

In October, Emily Watson, Shirley Henderson, Indira Varma, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Faoileann Cunningham, Aoife Hinds, and Chloe Lea were cast to star in the series. [3] [5] [6] Travis Fimmel joined the cast the following month. [2] [32] On December 1, 2022, Mark Strong, Jade Anouka, and Chris Mason joined the cast in starring roles. [1] Josh Heuston and Edward Davis would join in recurring roles later that month. [7] During Renck's exit in February 2023, Henderson had also left. [29] In June, Olivia Williams was cast to replace Henderson, with Jodhi May cast to replace Varma, who exited the series due to scheduling conflicts. [4]

Filming

The series was originally scheduled to start filming on November 2, 2020, in Budapest and Jordan. [33] It began production on November 22, 2022, under the working title Dune: The Sisterhood, with Renck confirming the start on his Instagram account. [34] [35] In July 2023, Deadline Hollywood reported that production was set to resume in Budapest amidst the WGA and SAG strikes due to the series' talent working under the UK-based union Equity. [36] Filming had concluded by December 2023, with Pierre Gill having served as lead cinematographer. Gill did not use the StageCraft virtual production technology, which he had previously utilized in Percy Jackson and the Olympians , as the production primarily relied on practical sets and production values. [37]

Music

Jónsi was originally hired to compose the show's score. [38] However, by October 2023, Volker Bertelmann was set to compose the score for the series. [39]

Release

Dune: Prophecy is scheduled to be released on Max in late 2024. [30]

Related Research Articles

<i>Dune Messiah</i> 1969 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert

Dune Messiah is a 1969 science fiction novel by American writer Frank Herbert, the second in his Dune series of six novels. A sequel to Dune (1965), it was originally serialized in Galaxy magazine in 1969, and then published by Putnam the same year. Dune Messiah and its own sequel Children of Dune (1976) were collectively adapted by the Sci-Fi Channel in 2003 into a miniseries entitled Frank Herbert's Children of Dune.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bene Gesserit</span> Fictional organization in the Dune franchise created by Frank Herbert

The Bene Gesserit are a group in Frank Herbert's fictional Dune universe. A powerful social, religious, and political force, the Bene Gesserit is described as an exclusive sisterhood whose members train their bodies and minds through years of physical and mental conditioning to obtain superhuman powers and abilities that seem magical to outsiders. The group seeks to acquire power and influence to direct humanity on an enlightened path, a concerted effort planned and executed over centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Irulan</span> Fictional character in the Dune universe

Princess Irulan is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. She first appears in Dune (1965), and is later featured in Dune Messiah (1969) and Children of Dune (1976). The character's birth and early childhood are touched upon in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy (1999–2001) by Herbert's son Brian, and Kevin J. Anderson, and she is a principal character in the Herbert/Anderson series Heroes of Dune (2008–2009).

<i>Dune</i> (franchise) American science fiction media franchise

Dune is an American science fiction media franchise that originated with the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert and has continued to add new publications. Dune is frequently described as the best-selling science fiction novel in history. It won the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel and the Hugo Award in 1966 and was later adapted into a 1984 film, a 2000 television miniseries, and a two-part film series with the first film in 2021 and a sequel in 2024. Herbert wrote five sequels, the first two of which were concomitantly adapted as a 2003 miniseries. Dune has also inspired tabletop games and a series of video games. Since 2009, the names of planets from the Dune novels have been adopted for the real-world nomenclature of plains and other features on Saturn's moon Titan.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margot Fenring</span> Fictional character created by Frank Herbert

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References

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