With a world as expansive and richly layered as that of Frank Herbert’s Dune, it’s no wonder there are a multitude of major people, places, historical moments and overtures that could be committed to on-screen storytelling. One such major moment in time — referenced but never seen in the Dune films — is the war against thinking machines that nearly wiped out all of humanity. But thanks to the new prequel series, Dune: Prophecy, we’ll finally get a glimpse into the war known as the Butlerian Jihad.

And Entertainment Weekly debuted new photos from the pivotal moment in their latest interview with series showrunner Alison Schapker, giving us keen insight into how humanity being subjugated nearly to extinction shaped the world we’ll see in the new HBO series connected to the Denis Villeneuve films.

As Schapker put it simply: “There were casualties on planetary levels, and that does something to individual psyches.”

What Is The War Against Thinking Machines And How Does It Impact ‘Dune: Prophecy’?

Taking place tens of thousands of years prior to the birth of Dune hero Paul Atreides was even born, this war against thinking machines is commonly known by fans of the series as The Butlerian Jihad or the Great Revolt. This war against computers, thinking machines, and conscious robots began in 201 BG and concluded in 108 BG, with humans barely surviving against the artificial intelligence that had enslaved them for years.

Needless to say, the war has had a major impact on the characters that we meet, even though it ended years earlier. “The characters in our series exist in the shadow of a war against thinking machines and artificial intelligence, which had basically enslaved or subjugated humankind for an enormous period of time,” Alison Schapker explained to Entertainment Weekly.” And in rising up, going to war, and ultimately defeating the machines, humans also came to a brink of their own extinction.”

Related Dune: Prophecy Is About a Shadowy Sisterhood ‘Driven by Vengeance’ HBO’s new Dune series takes place 10,000 years before the birth of Paul Atreides and focuses on the origins of the Bene Gesserit.

This changed the game, mentally, for the whole of the human race. And though the book on which this series is based wasn’t written by Frank Herbert, but rather his son, it plays perfectly into the stakes that build over time to become the thrust of the original novel. “Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson in their books really make clear that when it took that much loss of life to have humans basically free themselves,” Schapker said, “people’s notions of what their role is, and what sacrifice means, has just really been put on the line in a species-level way.”

And this is where the new series comes into play. The Sisterhood — which maintains a genetic database for all the universe’s noble families, and makes plans centuries in advance — would simply not exist if not for the war against the machines and the level of loss humanity suffered. And if not for The Sisterhood’s actions at the time chronicled in this series, the Bene Gesserit would not exist.

“The Bene Gesserit are one of multiple organizations and institutions that are ascending to fill the power vacuum that’s been left by machine technology being destroyed,” Schapker told the outlet. “In various ways, these sorts of institutions are pushing the boundaries of what it means to be humans so that they can perform tasks that once were performed by machines.”

Dune: Prophecy premieres Sunday, November 17, at 9:00 PM on HBO and MAX.

Dune: Prophecy IMDb ID tt10466872 TMDB User Rating 0 .0 Release Date November 17, 2024 Main Genre Sci-Fi Creator(s) Diane Ademu-John , Alison Schapker Cast Emily Watson , Olivia Williams , Jodhi May , Travis Fimmel , Mark Strong , Jade Anouka , Chris Mason , Sarah-Sofie Boussnina , Shalom Brune-Franklin , Faoileann Cunningham , Aoife Hinds , Chloe Lea , Josh Heuston , Edward Davis , Tabu , Yerin Ha Seasons 1 Franchise(s) Dune Showrunner Alison Schapker Character(s) Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen , Reverend Mother Tula Harkonnen , Empress Natalya Arat , Desmond Hart , Emperor Javicco Corrino , Sister Theodosia , Keiran Atreides , Princess Ynez Corrino , Mikaela , Sister Jen , Sister Emeline , Sister Lila , Constantine Corrino , Harrow Harkonnen , Sister Francesca , Young Kasha Expand