Your guide to the many magical women (and men) of Dune: Prophecy

“Descended from a great line of Emperors, Emperor Corrino is called upon to govern the Imperium and manage a fragile peace.”

There aren’t too many male characters on this show. The Emperor cuts an impressive figure but may not be calling the shots the way he thinks he is.

Strong stars in the Kingsman movies, 1917, Zero Dark Thirty, and Stardust among others.

IG: @mrmarkstrong

“A formidable royal who united thousands of worlds through her marriage to Emperor Javicco Corrino, Empress Natalya wishes to make her own contribution to the young Imperium.”

If you look at Dune lore through the lens of our own world, Natalya’s views are considerably more liberal. She’d prefer her daughter marry for love and not join a religious order. Alas!

May played the Queen in The Witcher, the seer Maggy the Frog on Game of Thrones, and received critical acclaim and the Best Actress award at Cannes Film Festival as a child actor in A World Apart.

IG: @theofficialjodhimay

“An independent young princess dealing with the pressures of being heir to the throne, Ynez plans to study with the Sisterhood.”

Ynez is unbothered by her father arranging a marriage for her. She doesn’t rebel against convention, because convention does not stop her from sneaking out and partying and basically doing whatever she wants. She’s anti-technology. In the pilot episode, she also hooks up with her combat instructor.

Danish actor Boussnina appeared in one episode of The Killing, played Martha in the 2018 film Mary Magdalene and played a supporting role in the medieval History Channel series Knightfall.

IG: @sarahsofieboussnina

“As the Emperor’s own Truthsayer and confidant, Reverend Mother Kasha occupies a position of great influence in the Imperium. When she begins to question the Sisterhood’s intentions, she finds her role increasingly difficult to navigate.”

Kasha advises on the wedding that occurs in the first episode and suffers the consequences.

Jihae is a Korean singer as well as an actor. She played Berry Schneider in Succession and Anna Fang in Mortal Engines.

And Yerin Ha, who will soon star as Sophie in Bridgerton, plays Young Kasha in flashbacks.

IG: @jihaeofficial @yerinha_

“Strong, intelligent, and alluring, Sister Francesca leaves a lasting impression in her wake.”

That description is vague in an ominous way, IMHO. What is she up to? She is one of the sisters, a middle rank in the Sisterhood, in the present-day timeline.

Tabu is an acclaimed Indian actor — she has a separate Wikipedia page for awards and nominations — who Western audiences might recognise from Life of Pi and The Namesake.

IG: @tabutiful

“A talented and ambitious acolyte who harbours a dangerous secret about her past, Sister Theodosia is deeply loyal to the Sisterhood, which once gave her sanctuary in a time of need.”

It’s gonna be hard not to start singing DEARRR THEODOSIA every time she’s onscreen. Anyway, she’s one of the young women training in the present timeline as well.

Anouka is a prolific theatre actor in the UK (she has been in at least eight different Shakespeare plays, some of them more than once, for example) who played the witch Ruta Skadi in HBO’s adaptation of His Dark Materials.

IG: @jadeanouka

“A fiercely independent and unpredictable acolyte, Sister Jen questions where her loyalty lies as she learns more about the Sisterhood.”

Obsessed with how some of these characters have uncommon, exotic, or at least multisyllabic science fiction/fantasy names and then there’s like...Jen. In the first episode, she comes off as full of herself (and full of lies) in an interesting way. She likes to shock.

Cunningham appeared in The Northman and briefly in one episode of The Witcher: Blood Origin.

IG: @fwayf_way

“A gifted, but zealous acolyte descended from a long line of martyrs, Sister Emeline seeks to bring a religious influence to the Sisterhood.”

The different factions/ideologies in the Sisterhood are fascinating to watch unfold. Mother Superior Valya is more concerned with prophecy and genetics than some of the more traditional aspects of piety, despite being in charge of a religious order.

Hinds played Helen in Normal People and Mae Chung in one memorable episode of Derry Girls. She’s Irish, if you didn’t put that together — and her father is actor Ciarán Hinds. She also plays Skye in the 2024 film We Live in Time with Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield.

“A young acolyte with a deep empathy beyond her years, Sister Lila was raised at the Sisterhood since her infancy and has no knowledge regarding her family of origin. Although she believes in the Sisterhood’s mission, she longs to know more about her roots.”

Looks like we’ll be theorising about this character...

Lea’s previous credits include a recent miniseries adaptation of Great Expectations as well as the Apple TV+ science fiction series Foundation.

IG: @chloelea_19

“A Fremen woman on a foreign planet, Mikaela does what she needs to do to survive in the shadows.”

As you may remember from Dune, the Fremen are Chani, aka Zendaya’s ppl. There aren’t many characters from Arrakis in this series, but we should probably pay attention to the few who are. She’s a bartender we see in the first episode who seems to know Ynez, Constantine, and Keiran.

Fun fact: In the Great Expectations miniseries mentioned above, Chloe Lea plays the younger version of the character Brune-Franklin plays. She was also Keeley in Baby Reindeer.

IG: @shalombrunefranklin

“A charismatic soldier with an enigmatic past who seeks to gain the Emperor’s trust.”

This character arrives from Arrakis and, boy, can you tell. He allegedly survived being eaten by a sand worm (!) and also seems to have some creepy magical powers.

Fimmel is used to action. He was in the 2016 film Warcraft, the series Vikings, as well as Raised by Wolves.

IG: @travisfimmel

“The illegitimate son of Emperor Corrino, Constantine is torn between seeking his father’s approval and indulging his own vices.”

He’s a handsome, chaotic prince...what more do you need to know? Guess we’ll find out.

Heuston appeared briefly in Thor: Love and Thunder, but you might recognise him from the series Heartbreak High on Netflix.

IG: @jheuston

“As royal sword-master, Keiran Atreides struggles with the corruption of the court and the legacy of his family name.”

So, obviously, he is the ancestor of Paul Atreides (aka Timmy C in the movie). But that name means something different 10,000 years in the past. He’s also the guy hooking up with the princess in the first episode.

Mason recently played John Lennon in an episode of Doctor Who but also played Veronica’s random husband Chad Gekko on Riverdale. He also played Leo Humphries in the third season of Broadchurch and appeared in the 2014 movie Vampire Academy.

IG: @chrismason_1

“A lowly but cunning politician from a once-great family, Harrow Harkonnen harbours a strong desire to elevate his House to its former glory.”

Anyone else getting major Game of Thrones vibes from this character? He’s doing a lot of scheming already. He’s the guy who was going on and on about whale, err, parts in the first episode.

Davis, however, is historically more likely to give you Jane Austen vibes. He was in both Sanditon and the 2020 Emma.

IG: @edwardbdavis

Scroll to see his character! “Uncle of Valya Harkonnen, Evgeny is the patriarch of the family and blames his niece for cementing his House’s lowly status.”

Look forward to lots of House Harkonnen drama, it seems. Valya does not want to associate with them, after all.

Addy, on the other hand, played Robert Baratheon on Game of Thrones.