‘Dune: Prophecy’ will launch viewers to worlds far beyond Arrakis, executive producer says

CNN
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The already expansive “Dune” universe is about to get even bigger.

In Max’s six-part prequel series “Dune: Prophecy,” premiering Sunday, the story will extend far beyond the vast spice-infused deserts of the planet Arrakis, which Timotheé Chalamet’s character Paul Atreides walked in the recent “Dune” films directed by Denis Villeneuve.

“Prophecy” takes place in “completely different environments” and time periods, according to executive producer Alison Schapker, who told CNN in a recent interview that the show expands the “Dune” universe in a way that feels cohesive to both the Frank Herbert source material and the films that came before it.

“‘Dune’ is a universe that people are attached to,” said Schapker, whose past credits include leading the charge on shows like “Westworld,” “Lost” and “Alias.” “It exists in a world that matters to people, and I think we wanted to respect that.”

Schapker’s team ultimately had “total freedom” when it came to creating these new interstellar locales, but they worked hard to apply the same aesthetic standards set by the films so that it feels like the show “could exist in the universe , which Denis so beautifully put on screen.”

“Prophecy” takes place 10,000 years before the events of Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part 1” and “Dune: Part 2” films – which are based on Herbert’s famous 1965 novel of the same name – and tells the origin story of the Bene Gesserit, a powerful group women trained to utilize the special abilities of mind and body.

Inspired by the “Schools of Dune” book trilogy written by Kevin J. Anderson and Frank Herbert’s son Brian Herbert, “Prophecy” follows sisters Valya and Tula Harkonnen, who take on the “forces that threaten the future of humanity and establish the fabled sect that will to be known as the Bene Gesserit,” according to an official synopsis.

One of the worlds in the series is Salusa Secundus, seen in Villeneuve’s film as a prison planet, but in “Prophecy” it is presented as an imperial planet.

The series will also showcase worlds such as Wallach IX, where the sisterhood overseen by Valya (Emily Watson) and Tula (Olivia Williams) has its institutional base, and Lankiveil, an icy and forbidding planet where the Harkonnens were banished to in this period in the history of history.

While emphasis was placed on making these worlds feel as “real and gritty and epic” as possible in a visual sense, it was also important to ground the sprawling history and rich history through the show’s characters to give “Dune” newcomers an easy access. into the franchise.

“It was a really deliberate kind of tightrope walk that we did,” said Schapker, who claims that you can still enjoy the series without having read the books or seen the movies.

That said, “Prophecy” caters more to an adult audience with some of its more intimate scenes. Being able to venture into this territory – without, of course, being free of charge – was a joy for Schapker.

“I loved that we were allowed to be grown-up sci-fi,” Schapker said. “It was really, really fun to allow our characters to have three-dimensional humanity to them, including their sexuality, and for the show to allow people to go and portray the spicier moments.”

Spicier, in this case, should not be confused with the highly contested and coveted substance at the center of “Dune” lore.

The first episode of “Dune: Prophecy” premieres on Sunday, Max. (Max and HBO, like CNN, are units of Warner Bros. Discovery.)