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Despite arriving a year after Dune: Part Two, HBO’s new TV adaptation Dune: Prophecy is actually a prequel that takes place almost 10,000 years before the events of the recent films. That doesn’t mean that Denis Villeneuve’s vibes-heavy take on Frank Herbert’s novels isn’t helpful context for what’s going on in Prophecy, though. In fact, a working knowledge of the lore referenced in the movies provides a decent foundation for understanding the characters, motivations, and plot devices at work in the Game of Thrones-style prequel.
Dune: Prophecy focuses on a religious order in Herbert’s universe called the Bene Gesserit. A group of women with mystical powers, the Sisterhood tries to manipulate political events from behind the scenes, leading all the way up to Villeneuve’s adaptations. Their plans take epochs to unfold and also revolve around, uh, eugenics. The whole thing not only offers an interesting through-line for exploring the Dune universe in deeper detail, but it’s also fertile soil for political intrigue, Machiavellian maneuvering, and heady sci-fi concepts that are cool to see play out on screen. Here’s a quick primer on what you need to know to catch up.