Get ready to enter the world of Frank Herbert’s Dune—10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides (played by Timothée Chalamet in the Denis Villeneuve-directed movie that debuted in 2021). The stunning HBO series follows the life of two Harkonnen sisters (Emily Watson and Olivia Williams) as they fight forces that threaten their future…all while establishing the sect that will later become the Bene Gesserit (a group of women with superhuman abilities who can influence various governments in the galaxy).
When TV Insider sat down to talk with the Dune: Prophecy cast and writers at New York Comic Con last month, they were more than aware of the legacy that they were stepping into—but well prepared to tackle it.
“We call ourselves 10,000 B.C. — before Chalamet,” jokes Emily Watson, who plays Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen. “As an actor, it’s a gift, this world…morally very, very complicated and everyone’s really messed up. But we’re playing with trying to control the universe.”
“It’s something that feels like a huge responsibility,” says Williams, who plays Valya’s sister Tula Harkonnen, of stepping into a world beloved over generations, thanks to the movie and also the original novel (this particular show is inspired by the book Sisterhood of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson).
According to showrunner Alison Schapker, working within such a vast and well-known universe allowed the show to have the best of both worlds. “On the one hand, we’re very much rooted in the Sisterhood of Dune trilogy, and that’s going to set up all the text for us,” she explains. “But we’re also telling a story that takes place over decades…some of the story we’re telling is based outside the book, where we’ve had the opportunity to work with the Dune estate and contribute to the mythology.”
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Alongside Williams and Watson, the show includes a mix of heavy hitters and newer faces, including Jodhi May, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Faoileann Cunningham, Jessica Barden, Aoife Hinds, Chloe Lea, Jade Anouka, Chris Mason, Mark Strong as political leader Emperor Corrino, and Travis Fimmel as Desmond Hart, an Arrakis-based mysterious and charismatic soldier. For Fimmel, who spent the past few years in medieval times as Ragnar Lothbrok in History’s Vikings, having fights in space isn’t very different from swinging axes on a battlefield.
“It’s very similar,” laughs Fimmel. “It’s about family, it’s about trying to achieve what you want no matter what. Every character is so complex and every character thinks they’re right.”
Watch more from Watson, Williams, Fimmel, and the entire cast above.
Dune: Prophecy, Sundays, HBO
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