On the heels of the hugely successful Batman spin-off The Penguin, HBO and Max are launching another new series based on a popular film series. Dune: Prophecy – which premieres Sunday, Nov. 17 at 9pm ET on HBO East and Max – is a prequel set 10,000 years before the recent films starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya. Obviously, that means we won’t be seeing any of the characters from those films in Dune: Prophecy, but based on the show’s trailer, the show is still loaded with a cast of talented actors portraying characters with surnames that should be familiar to fans of the film series, to say nothing of everyone’s favorite spice-devouring sand worms.
Ahead of the show’s premiere, here’s your chance to meet the cast of Dune: Prophecy. To watch the series with DISH, be sure to add HBO (which includes access to Max) to your subscription. Not a DISH subscriber? Follow this link to find the best offer and subscribe to DISH today!
Meet the Cast of Dune: Prophecy
SPOILERS for the Dune films follow.
According to the show’s official logline, “Dune: Prophecy follows two Harkonnen sisters (Emily Watson and Olivia Williams) as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind, and establish the fabled sect that will become known as the Bene Gesserit.” That’s a pretty vague description, and the trailers are similarly heavy on conspiratorial vibes over anything specific in the story.
But when you look at the list of the character’s names, you begin to suspect how the show may take shape. Lady Jessica, as we were shocked to learn in Dune: Part Two, is the daughter of the monstrous Baron Harkonnen, and these Harkonnen sisters appear to share her gift for mind-control via creepy voices. Watson plays Valya Harkonnen, while Williams portrays Tula Harkonnen and much of the cast is made up of their “sisterhood,” including Jade Anouka as Sister Theodosia, “a talented and ambitious acolyte at the Sisterhood who harbors a dangerous secret about her past”; Faoileann Cunningham as Sister Jen, “a fierce, unpredictable acolyte in training at the Sisterhood School who rarely reveals her emotional core”; and Aoife Hinds as Sister Emeline, “a zealous acolyte descended from a long line of martyrs, who carries fervent religion to her training at the Sisterhood.”
Unlike the ineffectual and capricious Emperor played by Christopher Walken in Dune: Part Two, the head of the Imperium in Dune: Prophecy (Emperor Javicco Corrino, played by Mark Strong) is “a man from a great line of war-time Emperors, who is called upon to govern the Imperium and manage a fragile peace.” Jodhi May stars as Empress Natalya, “a formidable royal who united thousands of worlds in her marriage to Emperor Corrino, while Sarah-Sofie Boussnina portrays her daughter, Princess Ynez, “an independent young princess dealing with the pressures of her responsibility as heir to the Golden Lion Throne.” The main cast is filled out by Shalom Brune-Franklin as Mikaela, “a strong-willed Fremen woman who serves the royal family while longing for a home planet she’s never known”; Travis Fimmel as Desmond Hart, “a charismatic soldier with an enigmatic past, who seeks to gain the Emperor’s trust at the expense of the Sisterhood”; and Chris Mason as Keiran Atreides, “a Swordmaster to a Great House whose ambition to live up to his family name is disrupted when he forms an unexpected connection to a member of the royal family.”
Check out a slideshow of the cast of Dune: Prophecy below and be sure add HBO and Max to your subscription to watch the premiere Sunday, Nov. 17 at 9pm ET on HBO East and Max.
