Dune: Prophecy is a new sci-fi series on HBO that's so far aired five out of six episodes in its first season. The show has been solid — I've been watching and reviewing it here on WinterIsComing, and despite a few qualms I've overall enjoyed the slow creepy story about court politics, genetic memory, and family trauma. The sets are huge, the special effects terrific, and the performances excellent, especially from the two leads Emily Watson and Olivia Williams, playing sisters Valya and Tula Harkonnen.
All the same, I've been worried the show feels too remote and knotty to attract a big enough audience to make it worth the large budget HBO has obviously expended. But I shouldn't have fretted. HBO announced today they they're renewing Dune: Prophecy for season 2!
“DUNE: PROPHECY has captivated audiences around the globe thanks to the visionary leadership of showrunner and executive producer Alison Schapker, who will continue to guide this grand tale of truth and power," Max executive Sarah Aubrey said in a press release. "We are incredibly grateful to our partners at Legendary and to our extraordinary cast and crew for their service to the Imperium. We’re excited to collaborate with this team again to see what they have in store.”
Jason Clodfelter from Legendary also weighed in: “This new season will allow us to continue building out the groundbreaking, epic DUNE franchise that has captivated audiences worldwide across its installments. We look forward to continuing our incredible partnership with HBO and are thrilled for Alison Schapker, her team, and the cast and crew who have worked so passionately to bring this world-class source material from Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson to life."
The Dune franchise is indeed having a moment. Denis Villeneuve has directed a pair of movies based on Frank Herbert's original 1965 Dune novel, both of which were big hits. A third movie, based on Herbert's book Dune Messiah, is in the works.
Meanwhile, Dune: Prophecy is set several thousand years before the events of Dune, back when the Bene Gesserit sisterhood was just getting off the ground and people throughout the Imperium still lived with the memory of a brutal war between man and machine that resulted in the outlawing of thinking machines, a major theme that runs through the series.
Like I said, I've enjoyed the series and am happy to hear this news. I've also seen the season 1 finale that's going to air this Sunday night on HBO and Max, and while I won't give away spoilers, I definitely wanted to see what happened next after the credits rolled. And now I'll get to!
As for when, there's no firm news. This is a big, expensive tentpole series, so we probably won't be watching another cache of episodes until 2026 at the very earliest, and I can see it airing later than that. That's a bit of a bummer, but for now I'm just happy to know that there will be more.
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