As it was written. While Dune: Part Two is turning audiences’ eyes bright blue, Warner Bros. and Max are striking while the iron is hot and have just released the first trailer for their hotly-anticpated prequel series, Dune: Prophecy. Based not just on the work by Frank Herbert in his novel Dune, the series is also adapted from the novel Sisterhood of Dune, written by Herbert’s son, Brian Herbert, and Kevin J. Anderson. The series will consist of six episodes.

Dune: Prophecy will explain the story of how the Bene Gesserit came to be founded. First introduced to audiences in Villeneuve‘s 2021 movie, the Bene Gesserit is a sisterhood of powerful women — not just politically, but literally — who come together with the goal of creating the Kwisatz Haderach, a Messianic figure who, by their guiding hand, will be destined to rule and command the entire galaxy. The story is set in the aftermath of a colossal war which ultimately led to the destruction of all computational technology, performing some sort of great reset across the universe. The story follows the oldest children of the Harkonnen family, Griffin, and Valya, as they try to restore their family’s fortune and end up helping in the creation of the Bene Gesserit.

The Dune: Prophecy cast includes Chernobyl’s Emily Watson as Valya, Mark Strong as Emperor Javicco Corrino, Vikings‘ Travis Fimmel, Jade Anouka, Chris Mason, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Faoileann Cunningham, Aoife Hinds, and Chloe Lea. Further rounding out the cast are Olivia Williams, Jodhi May, Josh Heuston, Edward Davis, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Jihae, Tabu, Charithra Chandran, Jessica Barden, Emma Canning, and Yerin Ha.

Who’s Behind ‘Dune: Prophecy’?

The creative team behind Dune: Prophecy on Max has seen several changes throughout its development, but a core group has guided the project to its current state. Initially, Denis Villeneuve was set to direct and produce the pilot episode of Prophecy with Jon Spaihts writing the screenplay. Both were intended to serve as executive producers alongside Byron Merritt, Kim Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, and Brian Herbert, Frank Herbert‘s son. Diane Ademu-John was later hired as the new showrunner, replacing Spaihts, who left to focus on Dune: Part Two.

However, Ademu-John eventually exited the project as co-showrunner but remained an executive producer, leaving Alison Schapker as the sole showrunner. After Villeneuve‘s departure due to his commitments to Dune: Part Two, Johan Renck was brought on to direct the first two episodes but later exited the project, and Anna Foerster was then chosen to direct multiple episodes, including the pilot​​​​.

Dune: Prophecy will debut on Max this fall.

via Collider