Ashley Walters is officially heading to the world of Arrakis—well, way before Arrakis as we know it. The Top Boy star has joined HBO’s Dune: Prophecy for Season 2, stepping into the expanding pre-Atreides chapter of Frank Herbert’s universe. He’ll appear alongside fellow new cast members Indira Varma (Coldwater, The Night Manager) and Tom Hollander (The White Lotus, Patriots).
Production on the drama’s eight-episode sophomore season is now underway, with filming taking place across Hungary, Jordan and Spain.
Set 10,000 years before Paul Atreides ever becomes the name we know, Dune: Prophecy draws from “Sisterhood of Dune,” the novel by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Season 1 followed two Harkonnen sisters fighting to protect humanity’s future while laying the foundation for the Bene Gesserit—one of the most powerful and enigmatic forces in the entire Dune mythology. HBO is keeping plot details for Season 2 under wraps, including who Walters, Varma and Hollander will portray.
The series arrives with a strong critical footprint. Season 1 earned four Emmy nominations this year, including recognition for its production design, fantasy/sci-fi costumes, original theme music and VFX.
Showrunner Alison Schapker returns to lead Season 2, serving as executive producer alongside Jordan Goldberg, Mark Tobey, Kevin Lau, Monica Owusu-Breen, Matthew King, Scott Z. Burns, Jon Spaihts, and the Frank Herbert estate’s Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt and Kim Herbert. Kevin J. Anderson also returns as co-producer. The series remains a co-production between HBO and Legendary Television, the same studio behind the current Dune film franchise.
Season 2 will continue the story of how a sisterhood rose to power—and how the choices made 10 millennia before Paul Atreides will echo across the Dune timeline.