Dune: Part Two was one of the highlights of the 2024 movie schedule, so it’s no surprise that fans are thrilled about having a series to bridge the gap while we wait for more updates about Dune 3. The HBO prequel series Dune: Prophecy is set 10,000 years before the birth of Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides and follows Valya and Tula Harkonnen as they establish the fabled sisterhood of the Bene Gesserit. Critics got a chance to screen four of the series’ six episodes, and they seem generally pleased with the origin story.
Dune: Prophecy premieres on HBO and streaming with a Max subscription on November 17, where Emily Watson and Olivia Williams will star as the Harkonnen sisters and Travis Fimmel as mysterious soldier Desmond Hart. CinemaBlend’s own Mike Reyes has seen the initial episodes and thinks with this cast and HBO’s penchant for world-building, it’s going to make the long wait for Dune Messiah a little easier. In his words:
I'm very much convinced that Dune: Prophecy is going to help ease the wait for Dune: Messiah. An acting deck absolutely stacked from top to bottom w/ talent, against the sort of gorgeously depicted world building you'd expect from an HBO show. I cannot wait to see it all connect.
Chase Hutchinson of The Wrap agrees Prophecy will be welcomed by fans of the franchise when it hits the 2024 TV schedule, but is also accessible enough for those unfamiliar with Denis Villeneuve’s expansive world. An early exposition dump allows for the sisters’ story to then unfold naturally. In conclusion, Hutchinson says:
Though not as sweeping in scope and without the same breathtaking visuals as those prior works, this thematic core makes the six-episode series a frequently stellar one as it more than manages to stand apart, mostly stepping out of the long shadow cast by the fantastic films. Providing an engaging portrait of the corruptive forces of power and the players desperately trying to control the trajectory of time, it’s a little stagey though universally well-acted adaptation that’s the perfect thing to hold you over until the films return with Dune Messiah.
Belen Edwards of Mashable also mentions that the series really starts to sing once you get past the exposition, and fans are treated to a deeper understanding of the Bene Gesserit and the world around it. Plus, don’t count out the occasional sandworm visit. Edwards continues:
Dune: Prophecy unfurls into a deliciously varied sci-fi epic with a little something for everyone. If you love political machinations, you'll be blessed with scene after scene of scheming and negotiations. (Truly, this is the closest TV has gotten to the idea of ‘Game of Thrones...in space!’) If you want more insight into what goes into becoming a Sister, brace yourself for the rigorous training acolytes undergo, which feels like Dune's take on the ‘magic school’ trope. And of course, if you're looking for some of Dune's wonderful sci-fi weirdness (we're talking about a series where someone becomes a worm, after all), you're in luck. Dune: Prophecy makes a meal of the Sisters' many strange visions, in some cases even eclipsing Villeneuve's interpretations of the Bene Gesserit's internal powers.
Ben Travers of IndieWire grades the series a C, admitting that while the story is “strange and mysterious,” Dune: Prophecy feels like an attempt to replicate Game of Thrones, and it’s unclear if the series has any staying power. The critic writes:
Unlike the movies — which were praised for making Frank Herbert’s elaborate world-building relatively painless to process — the Dune series can’t find a way to effortlessly integrate its exposition. Besides the dense voiceover, scripts rely on repetition to emphasize confusing or important plot points (which, really, could be everything), and that leads to dialogue so clunky even pristine talents like Watson, Olivia Williams (as Valya’s sister and Sister, Tula), and Mark Strong (the Emperor) struggle to sell. The series recycles many of the movies’ slicker visual innovations, from the worms gliding across the desert to the glowing body armor that flashes blue or red during battle, but it struggles to unveil any slick innovations all its own.
Amy West of GamesRadar says while there are flashes of what made the Dune movies so popular, Prophecy largely falls short, despite a sensational performance from Olivia Williams. The series is weighed down by too many characters and an overly complex world that is — contrary to what another critic thinks — completely closed off to anyone new to the story. West gives the series 2 out of 5 stars, writing:
Not only are all of the ever-changing relationships hard to follow, the show also tries to introduce too much of Herbert's complex world, from thinking machines and revenants to The Agony. The latter gives Prophecy an effectively spooky edge, as several characters interact with ghost-like manifestations of the deceased, but it's all pretty overwhelming to a casual fan of the franchise. … It's impossible to imagine how someone completely new to Dune would fare well watching this.
With critics having seen four of the six episodes of Dune: Prophecy, it sounds like there’s plenty here for fans to dig into as we wait for the franchise’s further expansion. Rotten Tomatoes currently has the series at 74% from 27 reviews, so there’s been an overall positive takeaway. Be sure to check it out for yourself, as the series kicks off at 9 p.m. ET Sunday, November 17, on HBO and streaming on Max.