The Screen Scribe

The Dune franchise is one I have long admired but often found myself intimidated by its dense library of novels and extensive lore. But then came Denis Villeneuve’s absolutely enthralling Dune: Part One in 2021. I had an entry point, gained a basic understanding of this complicated, vast universe that Frank Herbert created with his 1965 novel Dune. I have slowly been educating myself in the history of the Dune universe, familiarizing myself with a lot of the terms, historical events and technical jargon, as well as important figures that play traverse the echelons of power in the Great Houses and the political intrigues and rivalries. It has taken time and effort, but I now feel better equipped to tackle the sprawling collection of novels that encompass this universe. One might ask why bother? Why invest so much time learning about something just to read a book? To put it simply, it deserves that level of care and attention. The Dune novel is sitting on my bookshelf and when I finally grace its pages, I’m sure it will be 100% worth it to fully enjoy the greatness of Frank Herbert’s masterpiece.

So, with that little bit of context out of the way, we come to Dune: Prophecy, the prequel series to the films Dune: Part One and Dune: Part Two. Set 10,000 years before the messianic ascension of Paul Atreides, Dune: Prophecy focuses on the great rival of House Atreides, House Harkonnen, and the beginnings of their millennia spanning feud, while portraying the origins of the Bene Gesserit and their mission to breed the ultimate ruler that they can control, an engineered ‘chosen one’. Dune: Prophecy is anchored by Emily Watson as Valya Harkonnen, Olivia Williams as Tula Harkonnen, Mark Strong as Emperor Corrino, and Travis Fimmel as Desmond Hart.

I once described Dune to a friend as Game of Thrones set in space. I now see that as probably an apt, if somewhat simplified, way of describing Dune, especially since it has found a home with HBO for its small screen debut. Loosely based on the novels The Great Schools of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, Prophecy is set after this trilogy of books but seemingly borrows elements from all three. After viewing its premiere episode, I find it to be a somewhat uneven adaptation of both its source material, and as a small screen expansion of the film universe. I had some reservations about the series following both trailers, which unfortunately reminded me of both The Rings of Power and The Wheel of Time in terms of production quality, bad casting and a poor adaptation of source material, but there were certain elements I felt were done well, but definitely some that left me underwhelmed.

The episode itself is incredibly exposition heavy, something I would attribute to its six-episode run. That in itself I found a strange decision, given that there was enough source material for a ten-episode season and would have given the writers more room to breath with the vast amount of material they had to inject into this project. A lot of this exposition is delivered in voice over to expansive scenes of war and political intrigue, with a lot of Dune’s jargon dumbed down for sake of simplicity. I’ll never understand why producers, writers and directors feel the need to do this, when it’s clear that when it is done right and delivered correctly, the audience loves it. Take the vast history of Game of Thrones as your case study. Honestly, why is swapping in “the war with the thinking machines” (I’m paraphrasing here I know) in place of ‘the Butlerian Jihad’ seen to be the better option?

Give the audience more credit. Respect their intelligence. Respect the fans of the source material.

I can’t fault any of the acting in the opening episode. Both Watson and Williams deliver committed performances that elevate every scene that they inhabit, while Mark Strong does well as the politically weak and morally conflicted Emperor Corrino. The standout star of the pilot, however, is by far Travis Fimmel, who carries the episode as an intense, mysterious and at times, vaguely unhinged veteran soldier. I do find that the series lacks a certain amount of star power though. With respect to each of the aforementioned actors, there are none of them A-list blockbuster powerhouses that guarantee an audience by their very name alone. Granted, while I will stay watching for Travis Fimmel, anyone who hasn’t seen Vikings may not be as familiar with him.

The production values are also quite uneven, which is what mainly caught my attention during the trailers and put me in mind of Amazon’s fantasy flops. While the sets and costumes look undoubtedly beautiful and well crafted, they look exactly like what they are, sets and costumes. I never felt at any time that these were lived in homes or well worn clothes. I’m hoping this improves as the series continues.

Prophecy also fails at telling a convincing story. The audience are given a ton of exposition to wade through, dialogue that informs us of what has happened in the past, and what will happen in the future, but no hint of an actual present story. There are no decisions made by characters that impact the narrative in any meaningful until the very end. It’s frustrating and again disappointing. The only scene I can recall actually enjoying in a meaningful way was the conversation between Fimmel and Strong, Hart and the Emperor respectively. Both actors played off one another effectively that was just missing from the rest of the episode and put me in mind of many great scenes from Game of Thrones. I genuinely hope we get more of these.

The opening episode had a monumental task to accomplish by setting up an era of Dune that fans of the films would not be familiar with, and understandably struggles under the pressure. Perhaps an order for a longer season would have benefitted this series greatly, allowing it room to breath and unfold its history, character motivations and political intrigue in a more organic, natural fashion. But alas, we can only hope that Dune: Prophecy does not buckle under the weight, and instead rises to the occasion in future episodes.

2.5 / 5 ✨ from the Screen Scribe.

Dune Prophecy can be seen on Sky Atlantic every Monday.