Includes SPOILERS for Dune: Prophecy season 1!
THE Dune franchise is starting with full force in 2024, with Dune: Prophecy aired on HBO and Dune: Part 2 released in theaters, both telling a similar story. Node Dune In the timeline, HBO's prequel series is set 10,000 years before Denis Villeneuve's feature films, examining the Empire at a much earlier stage when known factions like the Bene Gesserit and the noble houses were in very different positions in terms of of political positions. Yet, ideas from the original by Frank Herbert Dune romance are always predominantconnecting titles with similar themes.
A similarity between the two titles is that House Corrino reigns over the Empire. Mark Strong plays Emperor Javicco Corrino in Dune: Prophecy cast, while Christopher Walken played Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV in the film adaptation. Shaddam is a character taken directly from Frank Herbert's original Dune novel, and Denis Villeneuve's film adaptation is relatively straightforward in its adaptation. About that, Javicco is an entirely new character created for the HBO seriesand he ends up fulfilling a similar role.
The Emperor is overthrown in Dune 2 and Dune: Prophecy
Emperor Javicco and Emperor Shaddam play a similar role
Starting with Dune: Part 2 In the plot, Paul Atreides leads his attack on Arrakeen to defeat House Harkonnen and House Corrino. The film's climax sees him fight Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in a duel to the death, with Feyd representing Shaddam as his champion. Paul wins, defeating his rival and ascending to become emperor of the Known Universe. According to Princess Irulan Corrino, Paul spares Shaddam and puts him into exile. Emperor Javicco Corrino was not so lucky in Dune: Prophecy end of season 1.
The plot of Dune: Prophecy sees the emperor overthrown, although in this case it is by his own hands. After Valya Harkonnen reveals to Javicco that he has been a puppet his entire life, he stabs himself to demonstrate his autonomy for the first time. Empress Natalya then kills Sister Francesca, ensuring her control over the Empire alongside Desmond Hart. The fate of the Empire in Dune: Prophecy It's unclear, but the story portrays its emperor in a similar way to the films and the original book.
Why Both Dune 2024 Projects Tell the Same Emperor Story
Dune's stories question the concept of power and who really wields it
Image via Max
The role of the emperor is an essential issue both in Dune projects as they contemplate the idea of power and who actually exercises it. The emperor, by all accounts, should be the most powerful man in the Known Universe, but Both stories see them as relatively ordinary men with no notable skills or intelligence to wield.. Both titles could suggest that the Bene Gesserit actually wield political power, but the line of questioning is more complicated than that.
Human beings are all inherently fallible and therefore the balance of power is subject to drastic shifts.
Rather than suggesting that one person or faction holds strength and influence, Dune: Prophecy examines the obscurity of power. Human beings are all inherently fallible and therefore the balance of power is subject to drastic shifts. This is why the Brotherhood wishes to create a perfectly educated leader: to balance the imperfect nature of a human ruler with someone who was inorganically designed for leadership. However, as shown in the original Dune books, this ideology brings its own consequences.