Dune: Prophecy star says her show has "moral complexity...it's not like Star Wars"

Dune: Part Two was a bit hit when it lander theaters earlier this year. Part Three is still a couple years off, but Warner Bros. Discovery isn't going to let us go too long without a return visit to Arrakis. Enter Dune: Prophecy, a new HBO show set millennia before the events of Dune. The show will revolve around Valya and Tula Harkonnen (played by Emily Watson and Olivia Williams respectively), sisters who are involved in the creation of the Bene Gesserit order.

In the Dune movies, the Harkonnens are among the most brutal families in the universe, and pretty scary-looking thanks to living on a planet with a black sun. At this early stage, the family isn't quite that frightening. Watson told Total Film that while they're still "a bit of a fucked-up family," they're "very recognizably human and complicated" and "less extreme" than the likes of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen or his psychopathic nephews.

Watson also talked more generally about her experience on the show. "It was very exciting, but also very great to go into that world with the security of knowing I've got the skill set to make everything feel real," she said. "It's a very interesting palette because it’s not childish… it's not like Star Wars. It has a moral complexity, which is interesting."

Is Star Wars "childish"?

There's no way to stir the hornet's nest online than by claiming that Star Wars, which has a lot of adult fans, is for kids. I don't think Watson was on the attack here, but it does bring up an interesting question: to what degree is Star Wars "childish"?

Creator George Lucas has always maintained that the original and prequel trilogies were made with kids in mind, so I don't think the characterization is off-base. Then again, the Star Wars franchise is huge at this point, and it's hard to lump everything under one umbrella. The Star Wars show Andor, for instance, has a more adult sensibility, while the upcoming series Skeleton Crew definitely looks like something designed to be watched by the whole family.

On the other hand, there's never really been a version of Dune aimed at kids. The books by Frank Herbert are dense to the point of being obtuse and the movies move deliberatly enough that it's hard to imagine kids having the patience for them. That said, both of director Denis Villeneuve's recent Dune movies are rated PG-13, not R, so clearly the studio sees the value in reaching out to all demographics.

I suspect that Dune: Prophecy will indeed have more "moral complexity" than your average Star Wars movie, but being morally complex isn't a virtue in and of itself; that's just the kind of story it's trying to tell. Star Wars does something different. There's room for everybody!

Dune: Prophecy will air on HBO and Max this November. The next Star Wars thing to come out is Skeleton Crew, which will hit Disney+ on December 3.

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