Indira Varma, Ashley Walters and Tom Hollander Join Dune: Prophecy Season 2 - Filming Now in Hungary, Jordan and Spain
The origins of the Bene Gesserit push forward with an 8-episode second season - and three heavy hitters stepping in
If you've been hungry for more Bene Gesserit intrigue, here's a good week. Indira Varma (movies and tv series) (Coldwater, The Night Manager), Ashley Walters (movies and tv series) (Top Boy, Adolescence) and Tom Hollander (movies and tv series) (The White Lotus, The Night Manager) have signed on for Season 2 of HBO's Dune: Prophecy. Production is underway on an eight-episode run, with cameras rolling across Hungary, Jordan and Spain.
The series reaches back 10,000 years before Paul Atreides. It's inspired by Sisterhood of Dune by Brian Herbert (movies and tv series) and Kevin J. Anderson (movies and tv series), tracing two Harkonnen sisters as they stand up to forces threatening humanity and lay the groundwork for what becomes the Bene Gesserit. If you're newer to the backstory, the novel is a useful map of where this could go - worth a skim on Wikipedia.
As for who the new trio will play? That's locked down, for now. And plot specifics for Season 2 are being kept close - which, given this universe's love of secrets and schemes, fits.
Still, here's what this could mean. Varma brings steel and warmth - she's great at characters who lead quietly until they don't. Walters is all presence and pressure, a natural fit for power struggles. Hollander has that knowing glint that screams "politics are happening." None of this confirms anything, but you can feel the tone they're aiming for.
Returning to the cast are familiar faces from Season 1:
- Emily Watson (movies and tv series)
- Olivia Williams (movies and tv series)
- Travis Fimmel (movies and tv series)
- Jodhi May (movies and tv series)
- Sarah-Sofie Boussnina (movies and tv series)
- Josh Heuston (movies and tv series)
- Chloe Lea (movies and tv series)
- Jade Anouka (movies and tv series)
- Faoileann Cunningham (movies and tv series)
- Edward Davis (movies and tv series)
- Aoife Hinds (movies and tv series)
- Chris Mason (movies and tv series)
- Shalom Brune-Franklin (movies and tv series)
- Jessica Barden (movies and tv series)
- Emma Canning (movies and tv series)
- Yerin Ha (movies and tv series)
- Barbara Marten (movies and tv series)
- Tessa Bonham Jones (movies and tv series)
Season 1 landed four Emmy nominations: Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes, Original Main Title Theme Music, Production Design (one hour or more), and Special Visual Effects in a Season or Movie. In other words, texture and scope are already there. Season 2 just needs to push deeper.
Alison Schapker is back as showrunner and executive producer. She's joined by Jordan Goldberg, Mark Tobey (movies and tv series), Kevin Lau (movies and tv series), Monica Owusu-Breen, Matthew King (movies and tv series), Scott Z. Burns and Jon Spaihts (movies and tv series), with Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt and Kim Herbert executive producing for the Frank Herbert (movies and tv series) estate; Kevin J. Anderson is co-producer. It's an HBO and Legendary Television co-production, with Legendary also steering the films.
The cast has teased a first look, which hints at broader scale and a few new corridors of power. No spoilers here - just a sense that Season 2 is widening the map.
For folks programming coverage or building calendars: eight episodes, production active across three countries, and a returning creative spine. That's a strong base to market around. Keep an eye on HBO for rollout timing and assets as they drop.
And for everyone who cares less about press notes and more about story: sisters, secrets, and the slow creation of a force that will ripple for millennia. That's where this is headed. We'll update as roles and dates start to land.
