Why Salusa Secundus looks so different in Dune: Prophecy

In Dune, Salusa Secundus was a dark, gloomy prison world and training ground of the Sardaukar. In Dune: Prophecy, it’s the sunny hub of the royal family – so what happened?

Dune mostly revolves around Arrakis, the sandy, worm-infested mining ground for Spice Melange and a perpetual target for Great Houses seeking its wealth and power. Dune: Prophecy Episode 1 has already expanded our horizons with Wallach IX, home to the Sisterhood’s HQ.

However, one location should sound familiar to fans of Denis Villeneuve’s movies: Salusa Secundus, the homeworld of House Corrino and the Imperium’s emperor, Javvico Corrino.

It’s an extraordinary planet, not too dissimilar to Earth (though vastly more evolved technology-wise) – but, as we saw in the Dune films, it’ll eventually be shrouded in darkness and soaked in never-ending rain.

The shocking story of Salusa Secundus

HBO

A nuclear apocalypse completely changed the climate of Salusa Secundus. Its once-bright skies were left smothered by dense, grey clouds, and its lands were drenched in rain forevermore.

Dune: Prophecy’s story begins over 10,000 years before the birth of Paul Atreides and long before Salusa Secundus ended up in its later state. Before its ecology grew harsh and untenable, House Corrino lived there for many years.

Fun fact: it’s one of the few places in the known universe where Shigawire (effectively a magnetic wire recorder capable of holding enormous amounts of information) can grow, and it was also a brief home of the Zensunni Wanderers, the ancestors of the Fremen.

Warner Bros.

Frank Herbert’s Dune doesn’t hold many answers to what exactly happened in Salusa Secundus. Villeneuve’s first movie echoed Herbert’s words with its visuals, with the planet described as a “penal colony. The worst riff-raff in the galaxy are sent to Salusa Secundus.”

In the Terminology of the Imperium appendix, we get a bit more detail. “Third planet of Gamma Waiping; designated Imperial Prison Planet after removal of the Royal Court to Kaitain. Salusa Secundus is homeworld of House Corrino, and the second stopping point in migrations of the Wandering Zensunni. Fremen tradition says they were slaves on S.S. for nine generations.”

However, as outlined in Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s Legends of Dune series (which came before the book Dune: Prophecy is based on), Salusa Secundus was obliterated by nuclear explosives in an attack (believed to be) perpetrated by House Tantor.

In the wake of the assault, House Corrino relocated to the Imperial Throne to Kaitain while retaining Salusa Secundus as a prison planet, and its fierce conditions were used to harden the Sardaukar army.

With Episode 1 streaming on Max now, check out our Dune: Prophecy release schedule and find out what’s happening with Dune 3. You can also find other TV shows streaming this month.