After the release of Denis Villeneuve’s firstDunefilm in 2021, the future of the franchise was still somewhat uncertain. The first movie performed well at the box office, pulling in a total of $407 million worldwide. However, the actual success of the film was hard to measure, as the world was still in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic, which resulted in the movie being released day and date on HBO Max (now Max). However, enough things went right with the firstDunefilm that Warner Bros. and Legendary saw fit to move forward with the franchise.
This new endeavor produced two newDuneadaptations for fans to enjoy. The first, Villeneuve’sDune: Part Two, built on the success of the first movie in every way imaginable, quickly becoming one ofthe biggest box office successes of 2024so far and establishing itself as a frontrunner for numerous awards come Oscar season. The other, a prequel series titledDune: Prophecy, has yet to be tested, but the latest news regarding the series should be reason for optimism from fans. Here’s what we know.
Dune: Prophecy Is Moving to HBO
Dune: The Prophecy
WhenDune: Prophecywas first announced, it was given the titleDune: The Sisterhood,andit was developed as an original series for WB’s streaming service, Max. As such, the show would be branded a “Max Original” and exist in the same realm as other shows such asPeacemaker,Our Flag Means Death, andRaised by Wolves. However, as part of a broader move from WB, this “Max Original” title has been dropped and the show has now been moved under thebanner of HBO, the prestige television network owned by WB.
Dune: Prophecywas just one of a number of new shows that have been transferred from “Max Originals” to “HBO Originals,”including DC’sLanternsandThe Penguin, theITprequelWelcome to Derry,and WB’s controversial television reboot ofHarry Potter. As for how this strategy will affect the release of these shows, they will now debut on both HBO’s television channel and the Max streaming service simultaneously, as opposed to being solely available via streaming.
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Establishing Dune as HBO’s Next Big Fantasy Series
As for howDune: Prophecyfactors into this change,it is clear that WB is looking to fill as many gaps between HBO’s major tentpole shows as possible. While shows likeHouse of the DragonandThe Last of Ushave established themselves as some of the biggest on television, they also come with extensive breaks between seasons. Fans of both shows were asked to wait at least two years between the first and second seasons of those series. By bringing shows likeDune: ProphecyandThe Penguinunder the HBO umbrella, WB is filling in the gaps in HBO’s schedule with additional high-budget franchise series.
Now that it is an HBO Original,Dune: Prophecyis being positioned as the next big fantasy show to watch following theconclusion ofHouse of the Dragon’ssecond season. After the sophomore season of theGame of Thronesspin-off concludes in early August, the next major franchise show set to release on HBO will beThe Penguinin mid-September. Then,Dune: Prophecywill immediately follow in November.
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While WB and HBO hope thatThe Penguinwill continue to keep audiences engaged, it will do so with a substantially different tone and genre.Dune: Prophecylooks to bring viewers right back into the realm of high-fantasy storytelling, with its politically-tinged new story set thousands of years before thebirth of Paul Atreides. It’s likely that thisDuneshow will scratch the fantasy itch for HBO viewers before handing things right back off to theGame of the Thronesfranchise with the release ofA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, another new prequel/spin-off set to debut in 2025.
What This Means for Dune’s Future
Not only isDune: Prophecypositioned to keep HBO viewers engaged between major new shows, but it also aims to continue breathing new life intotheDunefranchise until Villeneuvereturns with the third film in his trilogy. That film, an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s secondDunenovel,Dune Messiah, could potentially come as early as 2026. However, Villeneuve has expressed some interest in stepping away to direct a different film before returning forDune: Part Three, which would delay the third chapter in his trilogy by a couple of more years.
Given that the exact schedule forDuneon the big screen is still a bit up in the air at the moment,Dune: Prophecywill provide fans of the franchise with new material to focus on in the meantime. Its story centers on the origins of the Bene Gesserit, the powerful sisterhood of which Paul’s mother, Jessica, is a member. TheDunefilms establish the Bene Gesserit as an ancient organization that has been subtly controlling the politics of the Imperium for millennia.Dune: Prophecyseeks to shed more light on their creation and greater purpose in the universe ofDune. With a cast that includes the likes of Emily Watson, Mark Strong, Travis Fimmel, and Olivia Williams, the show has already begun drumming up a lot of attention.
The existence ofDune: Prophecyas an HBO series shows that WB is keen on expanding theDuneseries further beyond the trilogy of films directed by Villeneuve. Herbert wrote a total of sixDunebooks, and his son, Brian Herbert, has written dozens more in collaboration with Kevin J. Anderson.Dune: Prophecyis, to some degree, an adaptation ofone of Brian Herbert’s novels, chiefly 2012’sSisterhood of Dune. Villeneuve is likely to only cover the events of Herbert’s first two books in his films, and withDune: Prophecy, WB and HBO are opening the doors to the much, much wider universe of stories to be found inDune.Duneis streaming onMax.Dune: Prophecyis set to release in November 2024.
