So. Letâs pause for a recap: Valya Harkonnen, ancestor of the main villains in the films, is one of the founding leaders of the Truthsayers/Bene Gesserit, the witchy puppet masters of the franchise. Sheâs finessing her orderâs way into the Imperial dynasty, House Corrino, who will lead the galaxy until Timothée makes Walken bend the knee in Dune: Part II. No real sign of House Atreides yet. And sorry to Zendaya fansâwhile we spot a Fremen in episode 1, we likely wonât see any ancestors of her character Chani, a true woman of the people, in HBOâs courtly intrigue drama.
All this lines up nicely with Villeneuveâs films, and, as a bonus, is fairly consistent with canon. Thatâs not surprising, as Kevin J. Anderson is a credited producer on the project (he was also a creative consultant, or loremaster, on Villeneuveâs films). Anderson co-wrote all 15 (yes, 15) Dune prequel novels with Frank Herbertâs son Brian, and the series appears to be following their Great Schools of Dune trilogy, particularly Sisterhood of Dune.
If thereâs an X factor in Dune: Prophecy, itâs Desmond Hart, the mysterious soldier played by Travis Fimmel of Vikings fame. He returns to Salusa Secundus after surviving an ambush on Arrakisâthe planet where the main films are set. As your Big Dune Guy, I have racked my brains and come up shortâIâm not sure who this guy is, but heâs very clearly up to something, sidling up to the Emperor with promises of service. Call him Space Rasputin.
Hart is a reminder of what everything in this world is all about. Itâs called Dune, after all. The planet Dune, AKA Arrakis, is the only source of the spice melange, the universeâs most important commodity. People use it as a food product, but itâs also a powerful psychedelic and an essential resource for space travel. Imagine you have one substance thatâs like cinnamon, psilocybin, and crude oil underpinning the global economy, and you had to supply the entire earth from one deposit in New Zealand. It would be complicated. Thatâs why Corrino is marrying off to Ynezâto broker an alliance that will give him the military strength to pacify Arrakis. And itâs why people listen when Hart returns from the desert whispering of conspiracy and the supernatural.
The world of Duneâwith its giant worms, religious cults, and funky neologismsâis famously weird, but HBO seems to have pulled out the political machinations and twisted families in the franchiseâs core. If you can keep your eye on the players, you can enjoy the drama without knowing the lingo or how Chalamet fits in. But Dune rewards those who dive into the strange, and the show seems poised to go deep.
