NYCC: ‘Dune: Prophecy’ Promises Scheming and Sci-Fi Intrigue

Spice may be power, but who controls those who control spice? The New York Comic Con (NYCC) panel for Dune: Prophecy introduced fans to the world.  

The panel featured cast members from Dune: Prophecy, including Chloe Lea, Josh Heuston, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Travis Fimmel, Jessica Barden, Olivia Williams, and Emily Watson, along with executive producer Jordan Goldberg and showrunner Alison Schapker.

Dune: Prophecy takes place 10,000 years before the events of the Dune movies and focuses on the founding of the Bene Gesserit by Valya Harkonnen and her sisterhood. The story is split between two times, featuring a young Valya Harkonnen, played by Barden, and an adult in her full power, played by Watson. 

“We didn’t really get to work together,” Barden said. “It was obviously amazing, and I think that from the first time that we really spoke to each other just in a completely casual way, I definitely felt like I was sharing the character with somebody. It’s kind of intimidating because she’s an incredible actress and I couldn’t just go in there and be like, ‘OK, this is what I’m going to do, don’t know what you are going to do.’ I didn’t want to fuck it up.”

Dune: Prophecy does feature the story of Arrakis, but it also explores new planets that fans haven’t seen on the screen yet. Naturally, this brought challenges to the cast, including Williams, who plays Tula Harkonnen — Valya’s sister.

“I can tell you that if you are expecting sand and heat and blue skies, we are on a very damp planet, which involves there being a man with a backpack full of water and he’d pump it and then he’d spray us down so that we were slightly damp, slightly cold all the time,” Williams said. “The other cast in the Dune films would complain about how hot it was in Jordan. It’s like, “Yeah, well just try being damp in a tunnel in Hungary.’”

The series features House Atreides, House Harkonnen, and other big families that we’ve already seen on screen, but also introduces the Corrino family, the current rulers of the universe. 

“They’re born into a royal family, so it comes with a lot of different things living that life. It comes with privilege, it comes with status, it comes with, well, living a very secluded life,” said Boussnina, who plays Princess Ynez. “For Ynez and Constantine, they have each other, their circle of people that they really trust and who really know them is very small, but for them having each other, I feel like they really protect each other and it’s also a gift for them, having someone who knows exactly what it is living the life that they live.”

The highlight of the panel, of course, was the launch of the official series trailer and the announcement that the series will premiere on Nov. 17 on HBO and Max. 

If you are at the show, you can also check out the Dune: Prophecy Experience. During the experience, you visit Wallach IX, where the Voice will guide you through a series of trials to join the Bene Gesserit. The experience itself is eerie and epic, but the team behind it is also picking 10 fans each day to go to the Dune: Prophecy premiere on Oct. 30. 

Even if you will deeply miss Paul Atreides in this new series, its intense story, intrigue, and suspense has been prophesied for generations, much like the kwisatz haderach. Check out the trailer below!