Dune: Prophecy Faces Scrutiny For 1 Ballsy Move Denis Villeneuve Shied Away From in the Dune Films
- Dune: Prophecy'e episode 2 faces scrutiny over graphic nudity.
- Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movies barely had any nudity despite Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet being lovers.
- Dune: Prophecy is streaming on HBO Max.
Developed by Diane Ademu-John and Alison Schapker, Dune: Prophecy is a science fiction series set in Frank Herbert’s Dune universe and follows the origin story of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood. The series is a prequel to Denis Villeneuve’s Dune and takes place about 10,000 years before the events of the movie. Where Dune: Prophecy is set is before the events of the movie, and it is set after the Great Schools of Dune novel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.
The series is led by Emily Watson and includes Olivia Williams, Josh Heuston, Travis Fimmel, Jodhi May, and more. The show premiered in November 17, 2024, and received a positive response from both the audience and the critics. However, one sequence in episode two has drawn scrutiny to a trope the show’s filmmaker Denis Villeneuve has tried to stay away from in his movies.
Dune: Prophecy takes on a much more ‘seductive approach’ compared to Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movies
The highly anticipated science fiction series by Diane Ademu-John and Alison Schapker, Dune: Prophecy, premiered last week on HBO and opened to positive response from the critics and the audience. However, it did not take the series too long, however, to establish that it has taken a much more seductive approach when compared to Denis Villeneuve’s movie.
In episode 2, Two Wolves, Constantine Corrino, played by Josh Heuston, and Lady Shannon Richese, played by Tessa Bonham Jones, were shown hooking up with strong/graphic nudity and s**uality. The scene in the episode features both male and female nudity, which, compared to the movie, is a very ballsy move.
In the movie, in which Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya’s characters are lovers and develop a wartime romance, there is no graphic nudity. But the series took it to a step above and actor Josh Heuston spoke to news.com.au about the scene they filmed inside a futuristic tree house. He said,
I guess this sex scene, to me, doesn’t feel that daunting. We had an intimacy coordinator, David, who was great, and Tessa, who plays Lady Shannon in the scenes with us, was also super, super comfortable.
The actor noted that they filmed the scene in two days after rehearsing it for one day. He added that by the third day of being naked, they felt pretty comfortable, and so for him, it was pretty much relaxed. Not just any Dune movie, which barely had any nudity, Dune: Prophecy is being compared to HBO’s Game of Thrones. The actor commented,
There’s a lot of crossover in fantasy and sci-fi genres, but I guess the storytelling aspect of it with the great houses and then the overlapping storylines slowly start to converge on each other.
Heuston noted that Dune: Prophecy does have some similarities to Game of Thrones, but Dune: Prophecy is set in space. He added that the showrunners and the writers have done an insane job. Adding that Schapker, along with Jordan Goldberg, wrote the script and called them an encyclopedia of the Dune universe.
The actor shared with Decider that his character goes in with the right intentions, but often his vices kind of get in the way of his aspirations and his ability to perform politically.
Fans were however not on board with the intimate moment shared between the two characters, as one X user noted, ‘That unnecessary s*x scene in Dune: Prophecy’. Another noted that even though it served a purpose, gratuitous scenes are just not needed when the subject matter is strong.
Another user mentioned that the entire scene felt like the series was trying so hard to be space Game of Thrones, which was very off putting. Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon on HBO had seemingly set a standard for other HBO series to follow, which can be off putting for viewers who have watched the movies.
Showrunner Alison Schapker finds working on Dune: Prophecy ‘very rewarding’
Showrunner Alison Schapker, in a recent interview with EW, explained how the prequel series goes into detail to reveal what exactly the Bene Gesserit can do. She explained:
Some of the most fun we had with this series was trying to see behind the veil, so to speak, how these powers are gained.
Schapker noted that the powers appear to the audience as superpowers, but these women have pushed evolution forward, and it’s grounded in a scientific idea while still being mysterious. She added that the powers that the members of the Bene Gesserit wield are described in the book, but it takes an artistic discussion to understand how they are going to look.
The showrunner has found working on Dune: Prophecy very rewarding, especially with the collaboration between different members of the filmmaking team. She added that she loves telling the story of the Voice, and she loves that it comes out of character and trauma. Schapker mentioned such moments are just so exciting.
While speaking to THR, Alison Schapker mentioned that novels have indeed played a great part in inspiring them, and that the timeline of the show is tethered to the events in the Great Schools of Dune trilogy novels. She said she is glad that her experience has come in handy while working on Dune: Prophecy, especially because people love the material and engage with it.
Dune: Prophecy is streaming on Max.
