The Dune universe officially expanded on Sunday, Nov. 17, with the premiere of HBO’s Dune: Prophecy, but those fans hoping to see an appearance from Timothée Chalamet or Zendaya are probably out of luck.
Dune: Prophecy is set more than 10,000 years before the events of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part One and Part Two, so the characters from those films—Paul Atreides, Chani and the rest—aren’t even close to being born yet. Still, there are plenty of connections to the movies, albeit extremely distant ones.
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Keep reading for a complete guide to Dune: Prophecy’s connections to the Dune films.
Every connection between Dune: Prophecy and the Dune movies
HBO
The Sisterhood
Dune: Prophecy centers around the Sisterhood, which eventually comes to be known as the Bene Gesserit. While they’re not yet called the Bene Gesserit, they are the proto-version of the organization that pulls all the strings behind the scenes in the Dune movies, and some of Prophecy characters are even distant relatives of the films’ women. Valya (Emily Watson) and her sister, Tula (Olivia Williams), are both Harkonnens, meaning that they’re ancestors of Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), who in the films is revealed to be the illegitimate child of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård). This also means that Valya and Tula are related to Jessica’s son, Paul Atreides (Chalamet).
While the Sisterhood of Prophecy is still in its early days, its members are already doing many of the same things they do in the Dune films. They serve as Truthsayers to the major houses, they guide the Imperium in the direction they see fit, and they run a breeding program to genetically engineer candidates for the throne.
Related: How to Read All 23 ‘Dune’ Books in Order
The Houses
Some of the major houses mentioned in Prophecy are still around in the Dune films thousands of years later. Emperor Javicco Corrino (Mark Strong) is a distant relative of the emperor in the movies, Shaddam Corrino IV (Christopher Walken). For those who haven’t read all 23 Dune books, most of the emperors have been from House Corrino. It’s not until Paul arrives that a new family takes over.
House Harkonnen is also a major player in Prophecy. Valya and Tula are both Harkonnens, although there are hints that the house is not the fearsome power it is in Paul’s day. Valya notes that her great-grandfather deserted during the Butlerian Jihad, and his family was banished to a desolate world. She says in the season premiere that she aims to correct the record on who did what back then, although she’s not clear about how she’ll do that.
The Prophecy
Like the Bene Gesserit of the films, the Sisterhood are all about prophecies, visions and predictions. In this instance, however, they seem to be focused on two things: 1) the coming of Tiran-Arafel, an unknown, destabilizing force, and 2) getting a Sister on the Imperial throne.
While one could argue that they are also predicting the arrival of Paul Atreides, himself a destabilizing force once he takes up the mantle of Lisan al Gaib, it’s too early to say that for certain.
Related: Dune: Part Three – Cast, Director, Plot
Arrakis
Prophecy hasn’t traveled to Arrakis yet, but it’s still a hot topic for the empire. House Corrino has outposts there to mine spice, and the native Fremen are understandably not thrilled with the idea of colonization. According to Desmond Hart (Travis Fimmel), the most recent attack on Corrino holdings wasn’t carried out by the Fremen, but by an imperial ally.
Sandworms have also been seen on Prophecy, although only in visions and security footage from the attack that Desmond survived. Long live Shai-Hulud!
The Baliset
Remember Gurney Halleck, the grizzled weapons teacher played by Josh Brolin? One of his hobbies is playing the baliset, a (fictional) nine-stringed instrument similar to the zither. In Prophecy, the emperor’s illegitimate son, Constantine (Josh Heuston), also plays the baliset. He’s probably not related to Gurney, but it’s a fun Easter egg all the same.
Related: ‘Dune: Prophecy’ Finally Announces Its Premiere Date
