So. Let’s pause for a recap: Valya Harkonnen, ancestor of the films’ main villains, is a founding member of the Truthsayers/Bene Gesserit, the franchise’s witch puppeteers. She works her way into the Imperial dynasty, House Corrino, which will rule the galaxy until Timothée Walken bends the knee. Dune: Part II. No real sign of House Atreides yet. And sorry Zendaya fans: While we see a Fremen in episode 1, we probably won’t see any ancestors of her character Chani, a true woman of the people, in HBO’s courtly intrigue drama.
All of this ties in nicely with Villeneuve’s films, and as a bonus, it’s fairly consistent with the canon. That’s not surprising, since Kevin J. Anderson is a credited producer on the project (he was also a creative consultant, or loremaster, on Villeneuve’s films). Anderson co-wrote all 15 (yes, 15) Dune prequel novels featuring Frank Herbert’s son Brian, and the series seems to follow them Great Schools of Dune trilogy, especially Sisterhood of Dune.
If there is an X factor in it Dune: Prophecyit’s Desmond Hart, the mysterious soldier played by Travis Fimmel from Vikings fame. He returns to Salusa Secundus after surviving an ambush on Arrakis, the planet where the main films are set. As your Big Dune Guy, I’ve racked my brains and come up short: I’m not sure who this guy is, but he’s very clearly up to something and is siding with the Emperor with promises of servitude. Call him Space Rasputin.
Heart reminds us what everything in this world is about. It’s called Dunefinally. The planet Dune, also called Arrakis, is the sole source of the spice blend, the universe’s most important commodity. People use it as a food product, but it is also a powerful psychedelic agent and an essential resource for space travel. Imagine if you had one substance similar to cinnamon, psilocybin and crude oil supporting the global economy, and you would have to supply the entire Earth from one deposit in New Zealand. It would be complicated. That is why Corrino marries off to Ynez – to establish an alliance that will give him the military strength to pacify Arrakis. And that’s why when Hart returns from the desert, people listen and whisper about conspiracy and the supernatural.
The world of Dune– with its giant worms, religious cults and funky neologisms – is famously strange, but HBO seems to have pulled back the political machinations and twisted families at the franchise’s core. If you can keep an eye on the players, you can enjoy the drama without knowing the jargon or how Chalamet fits into it. Dune rewards those who delve into the strange, and the show seems ready to go deep.
