Dune: Prophecy Is Here, But Does Anyone Care?

HBO’s latest series, Dune: Prophecy (Season 1), has officially landed, yet it feels like the quiet thud of a sandworm moving underground—large in scope but barely noticed. As the entertainment world buzzes about Gladiator II, Wicked, and Moana 2, the latest expansion of the Dune universe seems to have slipped through the cracks. The cultural moment, it seems, belongs to colorful musicals, Roman epics, and animated nostalgia—not the windswept deserts of Arrakis or the whispers of Bene Gesserit conspiracies.

Let’s break it down: Dune: Prophecy is a prequel series based on Frank Herbert’s Dune universe. It’s set 10,000 years before Paul Atreides started his desert journey to power and focuses on the rise of the Bene Gesserit sisterhood, including their fight against existential threats to humanity and their eventual creation of the iconic order we see in the main saga.

Now, on paper, this premise is gold and I should be rooting for this series. It’s a story about women, driven by women, and crafted by a predominantly female creative team. Given how much of sci-fi is dominated by “men on horses” narratives, this sounds like a refreshing change of pace. But after sitting through the first episode, I found myself staring at the credits, wondering why I felt so utterly disconnected.

Let me start with the good. The show’s production values are undeniably impressive. The costumes, set designs, and overall atmosphere align perfectly with Denis Villeneuve’s cinematic vision. If the goal was to visually and tonally tie this series to the Dune films, they’ve succeeded. The problem is, those gorgeous visuals are draped over a story that is, to put it kindly, dull.

The first episode wastes no time diving headfirst into its lore, introducing a cascade of factions, characters, and subplots. You get names, titles, planets, and histories hurled at you like a sandstorm. By the midpoint, I stopped trying to keep up and let the wave of information wash over me, which isn’t exactly what I’d call an enjoyable viewing experience.

Despite having seen Villeneuve’s films and knowing a decent amount about the Dune universe, I still felt like I was constantly disoriented and in need of a companion guide. Wait, who’s that again? Why is that alliance important? Which planet are we on now? It felt less like watching a story unfold and more like cramming for a pop quiz on galactic history. The show’s large ensemble makes it hard to connect with, let alone care about, the characters or their struggles.

One of the golden rules of complex, sprawling narratives—think Game of Thrones at its peak—is that you have to give the audience someone to root for. Someone to emotionally invest in. A character who can guide us through the labyrinth of plots and politics. Dune: Prophecy misses that mark.

At first, I thought I’d found my entry point with Valya Harkonnen, a young woman at the center of the story’s initial conflict. She seems ambitious, driven and complex—a character I could potentially follow through this tangled web of plots. But the narrative quickly skips ahead to her middle-aged self, now entrenched as a leader of the sisterhood. Whatever connection I was starting to feel with her was severed.

The show then bombards us with a parade of new faces: Empress Natalya, her brother, her child-fiancé and several others. None of them, unfortunately, have the charisma or depth to make you feel engaged. They’re introduced, given a few lines to establish their roles, and then shuffled off to make room for yet another character. If the series can’t deliver a single character compelling enough to anchor its sprawling narrative, that’s a red flag.

And then there’s the elephant—or rather, the sandworm—in the room to address: timing. With Dune: Part Two still lingering in the collective consciousness and Dune: Part Three already on the horizon, the release of Dune: Prophecy feels like an overkill. It’s as if the franchise is only trying to cash in on its momentum without realizing that audiences need breathing room.

Audiences love a rich universe, but there has to be a limit. Expanding a franchise requires a delicate balance. Too much, too fast, and you risk diluting the magic that made it special in the first place. We’ve seen this happen with The Hobbit films, Fantastic Beasts, and even Star Wars that had gone through a phase of excessive expansion. The result is audience fatigue—and I fear Dune: Prophecy is headed down the same path.

What makes this especially disappointing is the missed potential. A series about the Bene Gesserit could have been groundbreaking. It could have explored themes of sisterhood, resilience, and the delicate dance of power in a male-dominated universe. Instead, it’s shaping up to be a convoluted side story that adds little to the larger narrative. Dune is already an intricate and niche property. Villeneuve’s films managed to make it palatable for a wider audience, but adding a prequel that doubles down on the lore may not be the right move. It risks alienating casual fans while failing to fully satisfy hardcore ones.

Will I keep watching? Honestly, I’m not sure. The thought of slogging through more episodes in hopes that it gets better feels more like a chore than a pleasure. And with so many other promising films and shows on the horizon, I’m not actually eager to spend more time in this version of the Dune universe.

So, HBO, if you’re listening, maybe let the sands of Arrakis settle before you stir them up again. Because what Dune: Prophecy indicates, if anything, is that too much sand, spice, the Voice, and burning hands in too short a time just makes people want to walk away.