With Dune: Part Two earlier this year, fans got to see Paul Atreides rise to power on Arrakis. But we know there’s way more story to tell both ahead of him, and from generations past. HBO’s new series Dune: Prophecy will depict the struggles and political maneuvering of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood 10,000 years before Muad’dib’s ascension. In the first teaser, we get to see Emily Watson, Travis Fimmel, and more begin to weave a tapestry of Imperium’s past.
The series follows two Harkonnen sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind, and establish the fabled sect that will become known as the Bene Gesserit. From our Dune expert Matt Caron, we can assume the following:
Watson plays Valya Harkonnen, the Reverend Mother Superior of the Bene Gesserit Order by the time of the show. It looks like also get flashbacks to when she first joined the sisterhood and began her training. We see a key shot of her using “the Voice,” which was a skillset she taught herself and developed before using it in full when she became a Bene Gesserit.
We also see Travis Fimmel’s character, Desmond Hart, who appears to be warning someone about how the Bene Gesserit are the ones on the inside actually pulling the strings. How did he know?! Additionally we get a glimpse of what appears to be the Emperor’s palace, which could be on Kaitain or on Salusa Secundus before it was irradiated. Guess we’ll find out!
Based on Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s Sisterhood of Dune, the series, co-produced with Legendary Television, will debut its six-episode season this November on HBO and will be available to stream on Max.
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Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.