Emily Watson, Mark Sturdy, Olivia Williams, and Travis Fimmel lead HBO’s bold prequel sequence to Denis Villeneuve’s acclaimed movies.
Plot: From the expansive universe of Dune, created by acclaimed writer Frank Herbert, and 10,000 years earlier than the ascension of Paul Atreides, Dune: Prophecy follows two Harkonnen sisters as they fight forces that threaten the way forward for humankind and set up the fabled sect that may change into referred to as the Bene Gesserit.
Overview: Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Dune has confirmed that when thought of unadaptable, Frank Herbert’s novels may make for essential and business successes in the precise inventive palms. With the primary movie nominated for Finest Image on the Academy Awards and Dune: Half Two destined for a similar honor, the franchise’s future has by no means been extra within the zeitgeist. Seizing the chance to discover different codecs and media, Warner Bros and HBO have developed Dune: Prophecy. This prequel sequence explains the origins of the paranormal sect seen within the movies referred to as the Bene Gesserit. Chronicling the acquainted Homes of Harkonnen, Atreides, and Corrino, Dune: Prophecy takes a cue from sequence like Sport of Thrones to discover the palace intrigue of royal households, commoners rising by means of the ranks, backstabbing, and future to deepen the mythology of Dune past the planet of Arrakis.
Having seen 4 of the six episodes that comprise the primary season of Dune: Prophecy, I’m torn about how this sequence matches alongside the function movies. So far as plot components, Dune: Prophecy shares so much in frequent with the Video games of Thrones prequel sequence Home of the Dragon, as each sequence namecheck ancestors of characters from the principle sequence whereas dramatizing occasions which are key to the occasions of the movies set within the distant previous. As followers of the Dune novels know, 100 centuries earlier than the primary guide, a battle was waged between the people and the pondering machines that have been destroying them. Dune: Prophecy picks up 100 and sixteen years after that battle, The Butlerian Jihad, as Home Corrino has taken management of the Imperium. Acquainted Homes like Harkonnen and Atreides exist however are lesser in comparison with the key households. A lot of this sequence is ready on the seat of the Imperium, the place Emperor Javicco Corrino (Mark Sturdy) guidelines alongside his consort, Empress Natalya (Jodhi Might). Javicco is making ready his daughter, Princess Ynez (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina), for indoctrination into the Sisterhood of the Bene Gesserit and marriage to forge a bond with Home Richese. This comes when soldier Desmond Hart (Travis Fimmel) returns from Arakkis with a message for the Emperor.
The primary episode of Dune: Prophecy units the muse for a way Reverend Mom Valya Harkonnen (Emily Watson) and her sister Tula (Olivia Williams) form the subsequent era of Truthsayers to manage the assorted Homes behind the scenes. We meet younger Sisters, together with Theodosia (Jade Anouka), Emeline (Aoife Hinds), Lila (Chloe Lea), and extra, as they study the methods of the Sisterhood whereas questioning the possibly harmful management of Valya and Tula, which unfolds by way of flashbacks to how they gained management of the Bene Gesserit. We additionally see how a surprising occasion on the finish of the premiere episode places Emperor Javicco’s management in danger and the way Desmond Hart performs a key position in what’s to return. The ambiance of the sequence feels extra opulent than the setting of Arrakis, because the Emperor lives on Salusa Secundus, a planet briefly seen as coaching grounds for troopers within the Dune movies. On Salusa Secundus, we see the nightlife of the aristocracy, which entails nightclubs teeming with spice utilization and many intercourse. We additionally go to every Home’s house planet, starting from forested (Atreides) to frozen (Harkonnen).
The shortage of expertise is seen briefly in a sequence exhibiting the downfall of machines with robotics factoring into the plot. There are additionally connections to the Dune movies as we see swordmasters utilizing coaching shields, some photographs of large sandworms, and the mind-controlling ability referred to as The Voice by the Bene Gesserit. There are additionally references to components from the sequel novel, Dune Messiah, that I cannot spoil right here as it’s a main plot twist. For sure, there’s a lot to unpack on this quick season, and by the fourth episode, I’m nonetheless uncertain how they may pull all of it along with simply two chapters remaining. I can say that followers of the prequel novels by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Andersen, each of whom are credited as govt producers on Dune: Prophecy, will discover lots of modifications from the printed books. Like HBO’s variations of George R.R. Martin’s novels, this sequence attracts the books’ major timeline and plot factors and contains many characters from them. It additionally has new creations which are authentic to this sequence and broaden on components from the 13 prequel books.
A few of the components of Dune: Prophecy are intriguing, such because the ability proven by Desmond Hart, which has no equal within the guide sequence. The facility hierarchy throughout the Imperium is attention-grabbing, however what we see inside The Sisterhood is way extra attention-grabbing than the palace intrigue and political conversations between the established Homes we all know by identify and the a number of new households it’s important to attempt to maintain straight. The Harkonnens are a lot completely different than the bald, highly effective empire seen within the movies, however understanding they’re monsters makes it arduous to root for them right here. Equally, the similarities between this sequence and Sport of Thrones purely from a structural standpoint make this sequence really feel a bit by-product somewhat than an attention-grabbing foray deeper into the mythology of Dune. Travis Fimmel does some attention-grabbing work because the standalone character within the story, whereas Mark Sturdy appears like he’s sleepwalking by means of his character. Emily Watson and Olivia Williams have an intriguing dynamic of their story arcs, however they don’t have sufficient time to work collectively on display screen.
Director Anna Foerster (Westworld, Outlander) helmed the primary episode and the ultimate two, with John Cameron (Severance) helming the second episode and Richard J. Lewis (Westworld) helming episodes three and 4. None of those three administrators are anyplace near the visible grandeur of what Denis Villeneuve dropped at the Dune movies, making Dune: Prophecy really feel smaller than the movies that deliver viewers to this story. Alison Schapker (Fringe, Misplaced, Westworld) serves as showrunner after co-creating the sequence with Diane Ademu-John (The Haunting of Bly Manor), and the pair manages to offer the feminine characters their due in a present that beforehand carried the subtitle The Sisterhood. Scott Z. Burns and Dune co-screenwriter Jon Spaihts are credited as govt producers, whereas Villeneuve will not be. Volker Bertelmann (All Quiet on the Western Entrance) doesn’t come near Hans Zimmer’s memorable rating however does lend some gravitas to the sequence.
Dune: Prophecy is a well-made sequence with excessive manufacturing values and a strong forged of veterans and newcomers, nevertheless it can’t assist however really feel like a duplicate of Sport of Thrones set in outer area. With a restricted run of episodes for the primary season, I anticipated extra from this sequence, which spends every episode too closely reliant on characters speaking to one another somewhat than offering a compelling argument for telling this story somewhat than different intervals from the ten thousand years earlier than Paul Atreides arrived on Arrakis. Frank Herbert’s novels weren’t shy from sexual content material and centered closely on conversations about political motion somewhat than precise motion, so Dune: Prophecy doesn’t stray removed from the supply materials. Nevertheless, audiences flocked to HBO’s Sport of Thrones as a result of it was compelling, attention-grabbing, and a singular world to go to with characters to root for. Whereas Dune: Prophecy definitely has the potential to attain the primary two, none of those characters are price caring about. Should you beloved the Dune motion pictures, that is price watching to study extra background as a substitute of studying 1000’s of pages, however it isn’t practically as attention-grabbing or entertaining because the function movies.
Dune: Prophecy premieres on November seventeenth on HBO.
