Power plays to the fore as Dune spin-off steps back

The key to unlocking the story of Frank Herbert’s Dune is not an understanding of science fiction, nor the kind of universe-spanning storytelling that makes up Dune and its countless sequels and literary spin-offs, though neither of those is in short supply. It’s actually just a dash of earthbound politics.

Before Herbert became the author of the book that would become one of the most successful science fiction novels of all time, he was a Washington speechwriter. And, says Dune: Prophecy executive producer Jordan Goldberg, he watched people “scheme and lie and rob and steal for power, and for control of the future”.

Travis Fimmel as Desmond Hart in Dune: Prophecy.Credit: HBO

Sound familiar? “He watched charismatic leaders get us into trouble, he watched organisations build up around power, and I think that is why Dune is such an influential book,” Goldberg says. “It brings a certain kind of seriousness to the sci-fi and relevance to what we live through now.”

In that sense, Dune: Prophecy, which spins off the Dune movie franchise, and the library of books that Herbert wrote in the Dune universe, is a kind of outer space Game of Thrones, insofar as Game of Thrones itself draws inspiration from the Wars of the Roses, Maurice Druon’s The Accursed Kings, and chapter and verse from human modern history.

“Everybody has hidden agendas,” says actor Travis Fimmel, who plays the charismatic and dangerous Desmond Hart. “That’s what I enjoyed about it. My character is very truthful and sometimes, same as now, imagine if somebody came in and said the exact truth, that would be scary, you know. I think people fear [Desmond] because he’s so honest.”

The series draws most of its material from the Great Schools of Dune prequel trilogy, written by Brian Herbert – Frank’s son – and Kevin J. Anderson, particularly the first of those books, Sisterhood of Dune, published in 2012, and set about 10,000 years before the events of the films. The series was originally developed with a title more closely aligned to the book, Dune: The Sisterhood.

Emily Watson as Valya Harkonnen and Olivia Williams as Tula Harkonnen in Dune: Prophecy.Credit: HBO

The story revolves around the Bene Gesserit, a sect of priestesses who are beginning to exert control over the royal houses that rule the world of Dune, in particular Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen (Emily Watson), and her sister, in blood and cloth, Sister Tula Harkonnen (Olivia Williams). Fimmel’s character is not taken from the books.

Goldberg says: “We kind of borrow or adapt a lot of the stories about the sisterhood in the infancy stage of it, as we follow Valya Harkonnen, but then we jump 30 years into the future, and that’s where our present-day story takes place and that brings new developments, new twists, new turns, new characters. It’s exciting if you know the book. But if you don’t know the book, it’s still a cool story to watch.”

Australian-born Fimmel, who is best known as Ragnar Lothbrok in Vikings and, most recently, Lyle Orlik in Boy Swallows Universe, says he was drawn immediately in when he sat down to read the scripts.

“Obviously, we’ve got the most amazing backdrop with the Dune universe, but this is very character-driven, it’s this one big riddle,” he says. “You don’t know who’s good, you don’t know who’s bad. Every character has their own voice, and I think it’s a really thought-provoking series.”

Jodhi May as Empress Natalya and Mark Strong as Emperor Javicco Corrino in Dune: Prophecy.Credit: HBO

Perhaps the most intriguing element of the series is where Desmond Hart fits into it. Landing as a character without a vast literary backstory, his morality and capability are uncertain, though the signs in the first episode are – warning: very mild spoilers – enough to make your hair stand on end.

“I love the mental games that he plays,” Fimmel says. “I love that he takes in everything in the room, and I want people to wonder if he’s a good guy or bad guy. I just love that sort of strategic manipulation.”

Some of it, Fimmel says, is just guesswork when “even the creators and writers don’t know exactly where things are going. So you keep it so you can’t make decisions as an actor. You keep it open, and I like to play with that anyway: the mystery of it, what’s he thinking? What’s his end goal? So if you keep it not too specific, your character can go anywhere at all.”

Exactly who and what Desmond Hart is remains unclear. There is a suggestion his power came from an encounter with a sandworm on Arrakis, one of the planets at the centre of the Dune story, but a long way from Prophecy.

Timothee Chalamet in the film Dune.Credit: Warner Bros.

That could mean he’s an early example of a Kwisatz Haderach; in Dune lore, a male who can unlock certain abilities by accessing the memories of their male and female ancestors. (Dune’s hero, Paul Atreides, is a Kwisatz Haderach.)

The advantage of not having a literary lineage, Fimmel says, is “there is no pressure to copy what’s in the book and keep everybody happy. I love the freedom to make the character your own.

“My favourite thing about it is just that you’re playing a game,” he adds. “You’re playing chess, and you might be setting something up way earlier for [what becomes] the last move. And the writing is so good.

“It keeps me thinking, every script I read. How is this going to play? How do I want other people to feel? The whole thing just like a big riddle to me, which I enjoy. And I want to see who’s going to win, like a good boxing match.”

The television series is not inextricably connected to the storylines of the two Denis Villeneuve Dune films, though it is plainly set in the same universe. That means, Goldberg says, there are certain expectations about production quality, production design and a consistent aesthetic.

“The films were fantastic, and those choices, on all the different levels of filmmaking, they really kind of made it an immersive experience,” Goldberg says. “We aspired to do the same thing on television. So it made sense to strive for that aesthetic.

“[Denis’] way of grounding the story also allowed an epic story to be told in a very intimate way. We wanted to do the same thing with the television show. It’s sort of innately doing that anyway because it’s delivering the story to your living room, and you become familiar with these characters over subsequent episodes. But it’s also the perfect way to tell a chapter of Dune that very few people know about.”

Dune: Prophecy screens on Binge.

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