HBO’s most eagerly-anticipated sci-fi movie spinoff gets a tantalising tease

The Dune universe is about to get even bigger, with HBO unveiling the first full trailer for its new series, Dune: Prophecy, ahead of its release this fall. 

The show looks to chart the rise of the Bene Gesserit order that has so active a part to play in Denis Villeneuve's films and their source novels, set 10,000 years before the events of the movies. 

It's a pretty beguiling trailer, too, with glimpses of all sorts of impressive-looking sets and ship designs, along with a whole bunch of gorgeous costumes.

The show won't be a totally new creation, though – it, too, is an adaptation of a novel in the series, from Frank Herbert's son Brian, who has added so many satellite novels to the main saga of Paul Atreides (that's Timothy Chalamet's character, if you're not a spicehead). 

That book's called Sisterhood Of Dune, and the show will adapt its story of two Harkonnen sisters seeking to establish the sect that will go on to become the Bene Gesserit. 

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Dune: Prophecy will star Emily Watson as Valya Harkonnen along with a range of other names, including Mark Strong Olivia Williams, Travis Fimmel, Jodhi May and more. 

Even from the scant details we know, and this mysterious trailer, it's clear that the show aims to be as sweeping and visually ravishing as the hugely successful recent blockbuster movies.

In an era where Amazon is betting big on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which also ties into beloved movies, it'll be interesting to see whether Dune has the same pull for its fans towards HBO's streaming service Max.

After all, HBO is still trying to position itself as the best streaming service for fans of prestige TV, a position that has become harder and harder to own as its rivals spend more and more on their own projects. 

Still, the few shots that we get to see in the Dune: Prophecy trailer do indeed look like it'll earn that "prestige" label, in budget terms at least - we'll have to wait to see whether it can match the Villeneuve movies' critical reception when it arrives sometime later in 2024.