Dune: Prophecy release time & HBO schedule

Over 10,000 years before Paul Atreides put his hand in the box, Dune: Prophecy will explore the origins of the Bene Gesserit – and this is exactly when you can watch and stream it on HBO & Max.

Frank Herbert’s unwieldy, enormous sci-fi tome may have forsaken Alejandro Jodorowsky and David Lynch, but Denis Villeneuve did the impossible with Dune Part 1 and 2: he made comprehensive, epic movies worthy of their source material.

Now, while Villeneuve develops Dune 3, Warner Bros and HBO are plotting a Game of Thrones-esque expansion of the universe with Dune: Prophecy, a spinoff set long before the reign of the Lisan Al-Gaib.

It’s set to fill the gap left by The Penguin after its finale last weekend, so if you want to know when to tune in, and what else to expect from the new series, we’ve got you covered.

What time is Dune: Prophecy out?

Dune: Prophecy will premiere on HBO and Max on Sunday, November 17, at 9pm ET/6pm PT.

HBO

It will be available on HBO’s TV channel and the streaming service at the same time, so feel free to watch it wherever suits you best. If you’re in the UK, you’ll need a Sky or Now TV subscription to watch it, and if you’re in Canada, you’ll need to sign up for Crave.

If you’re not based in the US, we’ve got you covered – below, you can find your time zone (sorry, but there’s a good chance you’ll need to stay up late):

• Canada (Crave): 9pm
• Brazil: 10pm
• Portugal and western Europe: 2am (Monday, November 18)
• UK (Sky Atlantic): 2am (Monday, November 18)
• Spain and central Europe: 3am (Monday, November 18)
• Bulgaria and eastern Europe: 4am (Monday, November 18)
• India: 6:30am (Monday, November 18)
• Australia (Binge): 11am (Monday, November 18)
• New Zealand (Sky SoHo): 1pm (Monday, November 18)

Remember, most streaming services offer seven-day free trials, so if you’re not sure about Dune: Prophecy and don’t want to commit to another direct debit, use them to your advantage!

How many episodes are there?

There are six episodes of Dune: Prophecy to look forward to, notably less than The Penguin and House of the Dragon.

HBO

While it was a drawback with HOTD, it should be seen as a positive thing for the new series: it could mean that showrunner Alison Schapker (who also worked on Westworld, Alias, and Lost) hasn’t outstretched the story to fit an 8/10-episode remit, and it won’t run out of steam by its finale.

Dune: Prophecy release schedule

HBO

Every episode of Dune: Prophecy will arrive on HBO and Max on Sundays, while viewers in international territories will have to stay up late or wake up early on Mondays to watch the series. You can find the full release schedule below:

• Episode 1: ‘The Hidden Hand’ – Sunday, November 17
• Episode 2: ‘Two Wolves’ – Sunday, November 24
• Episode 3: ‘Sisterhood Above All’ – Sunday, December 1
• Episode 4: Sunday, December 8
• Episode 5: Sunday, December 15
• Episode 6: Sunday, December 22

Both of Villeneuve’s Dune movies are also available to stream on Max, so if you get bored in the week-long wait for new episodes, you know what to do.

Dune: Prophecy plot explained

HBO

Dune: Prophecy is set 10,000 years before the events of the Dune films; specifically, the birth of Paul Atreides.

It’s a similar setup to House of the Dragon, a Game of Thrones prequel set nearly 200 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen, exploring a crucial saga in the universe’s history.

As per the show’s logline, it “follows two Harkonnen sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind, and establish the fabled sect that will become known as the Bene Gesserit.”

I can give you a little more detail (but not too much): there’s Valya Harkonnen, the leader of the Sisterhood (the collective that will eventually become the Bene Gesserit), and her sister Tula, her better-tempered sister who doesn’t always see eye-to-eye with Valya’s ruthless ambitions.

Elsewhere, there’s also Javvico Corrino, the first Emperor of the Imperium in the wake of the war against “thinking machines” and current custodian of Arrakis – which, as we know, comes with its own set of problems. And then there’s Desmond Hart, a “charismatic soldier with an enigmatic past” and mysterious abilities… but that’s about as much as I can say right now.

While Dune: Prophecy is based on a book, it’s not a one-to-one adaptation. Instead, it’s informed by the source material while having the freedom to tell its own version of the Bene Gesserit story.

“There are so many things in Dune that last 10,000 years. There is the creation of Paul Atreides, which takes many millennia and generations to bring about somebody who steps into that role,” Schapker told Screen Rant.

“There’s the feud between the Harkonnens and the Atreides; also 10,000 years. How did that start? And then, of course, there’s the Corrinos, who hold the Golden Lion Throne for 10,000 years. It really is not a stretch to say we are looking at the origin points of what will eventually [be Dune].”

Dune: Prophecy cast

HBO

Emily Watson leads the Dune: Prophecy cast as Valya Harkonnen, with Olivia Williams playing her sister Tula. Other stars and characters include:

• Mark Strong as Javicco Corrino
• Jodhi May as Empress Natalya, Javicco’s wife
• Sarah-Sofie Boussnina as Princess Nyez, who’s scouted by the Sisterhood
• Travis Fimmel as Desmond Hart, a mysterious soldier with an axe to grind with the Sisterhood
• Chris Mason as Keiran Atreides, a Swordmaster who works for the royal family
• Jade Anouka as Sister Theodosia, a talented and ambitious acolyte
• Aoife Hunds as Sister Emeline, a zealous acolyte
• Faoileann Cunningham as Sister Jen, a fierce and unpredictable acolyte
• Chloe Lea as Lila, the youngest acolyte in the Sisterhood
• Shalom Brune-Franklin as Mikaela, a Fremen woman who serves the royal family
• Josh Heuston as Lord Constantine, Javvico’s son
• Jessica Barden as young Valya
• Emma Canning as young Tula

Speaking at NYCC, Watson described Valya as a “mother figure, but not in a comforting way. Valya’s approach to mentorship is to challenge and push those around her to their limits, especially in the Sisterhood. It’s about survival, preparing them for what’s to come.”

“Because Valya is so powerful and has such a powerful mind, she really does become a tool of the Sisterhood to shape humanity – and that’s how charismatic leaders work. They prey on people who are vulnerable and angry and all of those things,” she also told Screen Rant.

Don’t expect to see anyone from the Dune movies. The show is thousands of years apart from the films, so while there’s a possibility that footage from Villeneuve’s Dune could be woven into the fabric of Prophecy, it’s highly unlikely Timothée Chalamet and co. will appear in any capacity.

Dune: Prophecy premieres on HBO on November 17. For more Dune content, check out where Dune 2 was filmed, the Atreides and Harkonnen family tree, and our breakdown of the Water of Life. You can also find other TV shows streaming this month.