Dune: Prophecy premiered on HBO and is now available for streaming on Max, and fans want to know when it is set in the Dune franchise’s timeline. The plot revolves around siblings Valya and Tula Harkonnen as they emerge as pivotal figures in humanity’s history and the Bene Gesserit, leading the viewers to wonder whether the show is a sequel or a prequel to Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movies.
Is Dune: Prophecy a prequel and when is it set?
Dune: Prophecy is a prequel to Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part One (2021), Dune: Part Two (2024), and the upcoming Dune: Messiah. The series begins by depicting the events of the Great War against the thinking machines, which ended 10,264 years before the birth of Paul Atreides, portrayed by Timothée Chalamet in Villeneuve’s movies.
The show skips several years before showing the death of the first Mother Superior of Bene Gesserit Order, Raquella Berto-Anirul. Subsequently, the series time-jumps 30 years following the murder of Dorotea, who was Raquella Berto-Anirul’s immediate successor. This is 116 years after the war against the thinking machines concluded with humanity’s triumph and 10,148 years before Paul’s birth.
Villeneuve’s Dune movies are adaptations of Frank Herbert’s book series of the same name. In contrast, the source material of Dune: Prophecy is Sisterhood of Dune, the 2012 novel by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. It’s the first installment in the Great Schools of Dune prequel trilogy.
In the Dune books, the foundation of the Bene Gesserit Order happened in the pandemonium years after the Butlerian Jihad or the Great Revolt (different names for the conflict between humanity and the thinking machines that enslaved them). This took place between 201 BG (Before Guild) and 108 BG. Notably, Paul was born in 10176 AG (After Guild) in the book.
Per history, a member of Paul’s family led humanity to victory, while a Harkonnen deserted the battlefield. After the war, all thinking machines became outlawed. Further, the Harkonnens found themselves branded cowards. This contributed to the generational conflict between them and the Atreides. In Dune: Prophecy, Valya, and Tula seek to return their family to prominence and ensure their order’s control over the Imperium.