Dune: Prophecy - Cast, Story, Trailer & Everything We Know About The Dune TV Spinoff

Summary Dune: Prophecy, originally called Dune: The Sisterhood, will premiere in fall 2024.

The series had many creative shakeups behind the scenes before production began in November 2023.

The cast includes Olivia Williams, Emily Watson, Mark Strong, Jade Anouka, and Chris Mason.

With the Dune: Prophecy news starting to heat up, it won't be long before the streaming prequel series hits Max. Dune: Prophecy takes place 10,000 years before the events in Dune and reveals how the powerful Bene Gesserit formed in the universe and came into their position of immense power. However, the road to television has not been an easy one, with the streaming series going through major changes since its announcement, both in terms of creative talent and the actors involved.

Originally, Dune: Prophecy news revealed that Denis Villeneuve was adapting the story to the small screen along with his work at bringing the main Dune story to the big screen. That wouldn't last, and the series has undergone more than one change in the position of the showrunner. After the main actor also left early in 2023, a new lead actor was signed on, and a new director came on board to helm the series. Here is everything that is known about Dune: Prophecy news, cast, story, and rumors surrounding the upcoming series.

The Latest Dune: Prophecy News

A Trailer Is Revealed

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As the fall release window comes closer, the latest news comes in the form of the first trailer for Dune: Prophecy. HBO Max revealed the trailer alongside the confirmation that the show is still slated to arrive later in 2024. In the teaser, which reveals the show is set 10,000 years before Paul Atreides' birth, the Bene Gesserit conspire with early Harkonnens to assume the control they would later exercise in future centuries. However, the trailer also reveals that the rise to power came with great consequences.

Dune: Prophecy is Confirmed

Creative Shakeups Behind The Scenes Since 2019

The news that a Dune prequel series was coming to TV arrived back in 2019. At the time, Denis Villeneuve was set to direct the series, as he was also directing the movies. However, the project then went through a series of creative shakeups throughout the ensuing years. Villeneuve exited as director, and several others were tapped before Dune: Prophecy settled on Ann Foerster who would direct several episodes.

Dune: Part One is available to stream on Max and Dune: Part Two is currently in theaters.

Dune: Prophecy Production Status

The Prequel Series Arrives In Fall 2024

With so many creative shakeups behind the scenes, the Dune prequel series seemed doomed until production got underway in November 2023. Skirting around the SAG-AFTRA strike that was still in full effect in early November 2023, Dune: Prophecy began shooting in Hungary with a non-union cast. The strike has since been resolved, and the series is slated to premiere on Max in fall 2024.

Related How Many Dune Movies Will There Be? Every Possible Sequel & Spinoff The Dune universe is so breathtakingly vast that it contains all manner of stories that could be adapted for both the big and small screen.

Dune: Prophecy Cast

Who Stars In The Dune Prequel?

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The cast of Dune: Prophecy has changed since it was first announced, and several cast members have since exited. Now, Olivia Williams (The Crown) has signed on to play the lead role of Tula Harkonnen. Tula is an early member of the House Harkonnen who murdered her husband Orry Atreides on her wedding night. Emily Watson (Chernobyl) will play Tula's older sister, Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen, the second Reverend Mother Superior of the Bene Gesserit Order.

Mark Strong (Shazam!) signed on to play Emperor Javicco Corrino who is described as "a man from a great line of war-time Emperors, who is called upon to govern the Imperium and manage a fragile peace." Jade Anouka (His Dark Materials) will Sister Theodosia, "a talented and ambitious acolyte at the Sisterhood who harbors a dangerous secret about her past." and Chris Mason (Broadchurch) has signed on to play Keiran Atreides, “a Swordmaster to a Great House [who] forms an unexpected connection to a member of the royal family."

The entire known cast includes:

Actor Dune: Prophecy Role Emily Watson Valya Harkonnen Olivia Williams Tula Harkonnen Sarah-Sofie Boussnina Princess Ynez Shalom Brune-Franklin Mikaela Faoileann Cunningham Sister Jen Chloe Lea Lila Travis Fimmel Desmond Hart Mark Strong Emperor Javicco Corrino Jade Anouka Sister Theodosia Chris Mason Keiran Atreides

Dune: Prophecy Story Details

What Happens 10,000 Years Before Dune?

They work from behind the scenes to influence politics and other matters that protect the future from devastation

The Dune: The Sisterhood story will connect directly with the Dune movies, although it takes place 10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides in the Dune timeline. The streaming series will focus on the Harkonnen sisters, as they establish the iconic sect known as Bene Gesserit. They work from behind the scenes to influence politics and other matters that protect the future from devastation. Despite the basic framework, intricate plot details from Dune: Prophecy are still unknown.

There is a novel called Sisterhood of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. In that novel, the Corrino family (Mark Strong's character's name in the series) has a tenuous hold on the human-occupied universe, but they face threats from an anti-technology Butlerian movement. At the same time, the Harkonnen family fights to reestablish its lost glory, but Sister Valya Harkonnen finds her efforts impeded when Princess Anna Corrino is sent to Rossak to learn skills with the sisters. This may at least partly influence Dune: Prophecy.