In a surprise to absolutely no one who has been immersed in the child-burning, eugenics-pushing, mind-bending chaos of Dune: Prophecy, we’re returning to this universe from 10,000 years before Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movies. HBO announced today that the prequel series will be renewed for a second season after the first season experienced massive success.
From the second we landed in House Corrino with its Dune-esque futurism and medieval-style backstabbing, Dune: Prophecy offered a sort of historical contextualization of the Dune universe we were accustomed to, one many didn’t want to leave. According to HBO’s press release announcing the renewal, the popular show’s series premiere episode amassed a Shai Hulud-sized 15 million viewers, 13 million more viewers than Warner Bros. Discovery stated the episode had amassed after a day of being released, as reported by Deadline. Sounds like people didn’t want to miss out on all the dystopian fun.
In a press conference earlier today, show runner Alison Schapker expressed her excitement for the second season, and for Dune: Prophecy to “continue building out our corner of the Dune universe.” Although the show is loosely based on the prequel novel Sisterhood of Dune, Schaller wanted to expand the world while still being in close collaboration with Brian Herbert and the estate of original Dune author Frank Herbert. Speaking with Business Insider, she explained how Sisterhood of Dune focused primarily on the time period in which a young Valya Harkonnen comes into control of the sisterhood, while she wanted to show the ripple effect of her decisions in shaping the Sisterhood into the Bene Gesserit.
“We also wanted to have room to create a rich television series, and see an older Valya, played by Emily Watson, a little more in control — where she took the sisterhood, and then how she was tested as part of a larger exploration of how it went from the Sisterhood to the Bene Gesserit. We wanted to look at the organization over time.”
The season finale of Dune: Prophecy airs this Sunday, and follows a bombshell episode in which we find out that Sister Francesca (Tabu), mother of Emperor Javicco Corrino’s son Constantine (Josh Heuston), had been unwittingly reinserted into their lives to use her powerful influence to return the Bene Gesserit to a position of power within The Imperium. All that is left is to see who survives for the second season once the Spice has settled.