Check this out:

Though the story of Paul Atreides’ rise to power has already been told on the big screen, Prophecy takes place 10,000 years before the events of Dune, with the main focus being put on the “Sisterhood”—before they became known as the Bene Gesserit.

While the sisterhood does have a lot of its weird practices, here in Prophecy, it’s clear that they are already positioned close to those in power; we don’t know if they already have their plan set in motion for the coming of the Kwisatz Haderach, but it’s likely that the show could be revealing the origins of that idea being brought forth by Valya Harkonnen (Emily Watson).

We don’t know how long they plan to keep the series running, but with Mark Strong onboard, I have a feeling he could be dead by the end of the season—such is the case of characters played by big name actors in any HBO series (just look at Westworld’s Anthony Hopkins and Game of Thrones’ Sean Bean).

With Denis Villneuve’s Dune 3 still a few years away, a minseries expanding the world could be the perfect thing for fans. With HBO scrubbing properties like Raised by Wolves and Westworld, there’s definitely room for a new sci-fi drama that could be the next flagship for Max.

Watch out for Dune: Prophecy when it releases on Max this coming Nov. 17.

The series is set to premiere this November, and a new trailer has been dropped. Check this out:

With the Dune films taking place mostly on Arrakis, Prophecy looks to flesh out the world by bringing audiences to the headquarters of the Imperium, where the Emperor resides. While this series has the Bene Gesserit in focus, the Imperium in this show is being led by Mark Strong’s Emperor Javicco Corrino—who will likely be the sisterhood’s target as they plan to take control of the known universe themselves.

For now, it looks like the Harkonnen matriarch Valya (Emily Watson) is going to be the one leading the Bene Gesserit under the guise of it being some kind of specialty school. We don’t know exactly how they gain power, but by the time of the movies, the Bene Gesserit have successfully infiltrated powerful houses, and have even started a religious superstition on Arrakis that would result in the easier takeover of the Kwisatz Haderach—who they plan to successfully breed into existence.

If anything, the sisterhood is considered to be the basis of George Lucas’ Jedi in Star Wars, but instead of noble space knights, you have sneaky witch ladies who can force people to do their bidding literally.

It’s going to be a lot of fun.

Dune: Prophecy is set to release on Max this coming Nov. 17.

Check the new trailer for The Legend of Ochi right here:

This looks to be the feature-length movie debut of director Isaiah Saxon, who does seem to have a penchant for colourful fantasy creatures.

Storywise, it does look like the usual fantasy trope of ‘a child saving a weird creature that the adults have told her all her life was dangerous’ which we’ve seen in a few films already like E.T., Pete’s Dragon, and Iron Giant. TV Tropes actually calls this trope “Humans are the Real Monsters”.

Though the trope has been seen time and again, the A24 branding does come with the promise of sweeping visuals and overall artsy vibe—which is pretty much showcased in the trailer.

Plus, it looks like The Legend of Ochi is supposed to be in a modern setting, but Willem Dafoe is running around in fantasy armor, so that should make for a very interesting story.

I also think it’s fascinating that Finn Wolfhard should be cast in the film, since his big break, Stranger Things was also considered to be a pseudo-remake of E.T.—only Wolfhard’s E.T. was a stranger girl named Eleven played by Millie Bobby Brown.

The Legend of Ochi is expected to hit theatres on March 27, 2025.

The series is expected to premiere this November, and they’ve dropped a new teaser showcasing the earlier days of the Bene Gesserit. Check this out:

Ten thousand years before Paul Atreides joined the Fremen to lead an uprising on Arrakis to take down House Harkonen, two sisters (Valya and Tula Harkkonen) create the mysterious all-female order called the Bene Gesserit. In Dune Prophecy, the siblings combat forces that threaten the future of humankind.

The biggest star in the cast is Mark Strong, and in this series he plays the part of Emperor Corrino, the current ruler of the Imperium. Besides Strong, the series also has Emily Watson (Chernobyl) playing the part of Valya Harkonnen. Other cast members in the series include Travis Fimmel, Olivia Williams, Camilla Beeput, and Sarah Lam.

With the world of Dune being as vast as it is, the Bene Gesserit is definitely a group that deserves its own kind of origin story. After all, they are the very basis of another more popular fantasy space cult—the Jedi. You can even say that the sisters in The Acolyte are more directly inspired by the Bene Gesserit.

The series definitely looks interesting, and should draw the audiences of the Dune franchise. With House of the Dragon expected to end soon, and Westworld and Raised by Wolves getting cancelled, Max needs another big sci-fi drama to fill that hole.

Dune: Prophecy is set to come out on Max this November.

Here’s our first look at Dune: Prophecy, a spinoff series focusing on the formation of the Bene Gesserit and the lie that would propel Paul Atreides to power thousands of years later. Watch this:

10,000 years before the birth of Paul Atreides, before the universe knew them as the Bene Gesserit…

No doubt the biggest star in the teaser for Prophecy is Mark Strong who plays the part of Emperor Corrino, but the cast also includes the likes of Travis Fimmel, Olivia Williams, Sarah Lam, and Camilla Beeput. Chernobyl star Emily Watson is also playing the part of Valya Harkonnen—and it looks like she’s up to something devious when it comes to the plans of the sisterhood.

There are definitely a lot of interesting things when it comes to Dune, and the Bene Gesserit has always been one of the more interetsing elements—kind of like Jedi before Jedi were even a thing. They have all of these fantastical ‘powers’ but they also represent the power of religious influence on a state.

It was said that the Bene Gesserit were named after the real-life group of Catholic Jesuits who also had political motivations . You can see all that play out in another critically-acclaimed show—Shogun.

With all the hype that Dune: Part Two was able to generate, a lot of fans will be eager to check out Dune: Prophecy to help further expand the lore.

Dune: Prophecy is slated to premiere on Max this Fall.