The galaxy of the far future in Frank Herbert’s Dune novels has a backstory that hints at a vast and intriguing history across the centuries leading up to the events of the books. With director Dennis Villeneuve bringing Herbert’s seminal science-fiction classic to the big screen, some of that history is being expounded upon for the small screen in HBO’s upcoming Dune: Prophecy series.
This weekend at the New York Comic Con, several of the show’s cast and behind-the-scenes creative crew took to the stage for a presentation that lifted the curtain somewhat on what fans can expect to see when the show debuts next month.
“We are in the shadow of the wars that humankind has fought against the thinking machines,” explains showrunner Allison Schapker. “We are in this aftermath. It is a time of great rebuilding. There are great Houses and an emperor and a kind of neo-feudal society and also a time of great imagination. The great Schools are rising and the school that we are focusing on is the Sisterhood, an organization that will eventually become the Bene Gesserit.”
“Ten thousand years before the birth of Paul Atredies, a prophecy called for a new hero, and that was a Harkonnen,” the show’s executive producer Jordan Goldberg adds, referencing the family name of the villains of the first Dune novel. “The book is the cornerstone of Sci-Fi, one of the cornerstones. So any Science Fictions you’ve seen in the last few decades have been influenced by it. But this is a show, HBO Max Original, and it’s going to be appearing on HBO. And that means it’s a character-driven, thought-provoking narrative.”
That character-driven focus is something that appeals to Emily Watson, who plays Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen (there’s that name again) in the show. While the series uses a lot of visual effects to realize the worlds on which the story will unfold, Watson welcomes that her character’s particular traits allow for her to have acting moments rather than just getting lost in computer generated imagery.
“What I love about playing this woman is that she has all these kind of superpowers, but they’re all in her head,” she explains. “It’s all about mental prowess, and being able to very, very, very clearly read people and manipulate people. And for an actor, all you need, really, is a camera.”
Travis Fimmel, who plays the mysterious Desmond Hart, is excited to see Dune fans’ reactions to the ambiguity of his character. “I’m not sure who he’s loyal to at the moment,” he states. “But he’s going to act like he’s loyal to everybody, and try to gain everybody’s trust. And that’s what’s so good about the writing. I think everybody’s going to be trying to work out who he is and who he’s going to take sides with.”
Even though its story is set thousands of years before the events of Herbert’s original novel, the cast and writers point out that it still very much deals with similar themes about political and religious power and the dangers they can wield.
“I think there’s probably nobody in this room that hasn’t in some way been touched by the fear that is inculcated into us by religion, ” says Watson. “And that’s very much the texture of the fear that we play with. You know, that’s part of our makeup.”
Showrunner Schapker adds, “To me, writing a show that’s concerned with power, and truth, and lies, and stories, and what does it mean to have charismatic leaders, and is that something to be followed or something to be suspicious of — and I think Dune raises all kinds of questions about how power operates in the light and how power operates in the shadows.”
Dune: Prophecy is set to premier on November 17 on HBO.
