Dune: Prophecy‘s Showrunner Explains Denis Villeneuve’s Role in the Show

Though HBO’s Dune: Prophecy—which conscionable aired its 2nd of six episodes past night—takes spot implicit 10,000 years earlier the commencement of a definite Paul Atreides, the amusement and the Denis Villeneuve Dune movies are adjacent unneurotic successful astir each different facet than time. Both are drawn from the satellite created by Frank Herbert, of course, but the accumulation plan of the precise fashionable Villeneuve movies intelligibly informed Prophecy‘s look and feel, too.

In a caller interrogation with the Hollywood Reporter, which besides digs into her clip spent connected Lost and Westworld, Dune: Prophecy showrunner Alison Schapker explained however the amusement cautiously worked links to Villeneuve‘s movie into its ain DNA, including utilizing the aforesaid font for the title.

“We were perfectly inspired by the films, and we wanted our satellite to consciousness similar it was successful conversation,” Schapker told THR. “For example, erstwhile we spell to Arrakis, the sandworms person a akin design, truthful Denis was benignant capable to bless that overlap. But we besides wanted to spell to our ain corners of the Dune universe, and that’s wherefore we explicitly did not acceptable the bulk of our enactment connected Arrakis. We wanted to research immoderate planets that radical were not arsenic acquainted with, and bash immoderate satellite gathering that would clasp up successful the greater universe. So, yes, we wanted to beryllium successful the beingness of Denis’ films, portion besides trying to bash our ain thing.”

Doing their ain happening was important for the amusement to make its ain identity, but adjacent if Schapker and her squad had wanted much Villeneuve involvement, it wasn’t truly an option. “By the clip I came [to enactment connected Dune: Prophecy], Denis had reengaged connected the movie broadside of things. That was wherever helium was going to beryllium putting his originative energy,” she said. “So we did not make successful lockstep, and being 10,000 years isolated truly lends itself to that. But he’s a Dune fan, and I’ve had the pleasance of speaking with him, truthful I anticipation that helium volition beryllium delighted by this country of the beingness and clip period.”

New episodes of Dune: Prophecy get Sundays connected HBO and Max; Villeneuve is said to beryllium targeting Dune Messiah, the 3rd movie successful his trilogy, arsenic potentially his adjacent big-screen project.

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