Dune: Prophecy, Max’s upcoming TV show set in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movie universe, has a lot of ground to cover. Set 10,000 years before the events depicted in Dune: Part One and Dune: Part Two, the series focuses on the founding of the Bene Gesserit sect. Even so, there are many other questions Dune: Prophecy must answer. Of course, there are also several key threads that were cut from Villeneuve’s movies that the TV series must address — not just for the good of Dune’s lore, but in order to properly set up the filmmaker’s highly anticipated Dune 3.

Key to Dune: Prophecy’s impressive cast of characters are Valya Harkonnen (Emily Watson), the leader of the newly founded Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, and Tula Harkonnen (Olivia Williams), Valya’s sister and fellow Bene Gesserit adept. While the main focus will be on the Harkonnen sisters and other Bene Gesserit acolytes, members of the Corrino Empire will also play a key role. Needless to say, the prequel series sets the stage for Paul Atreides’ (Timothée Chalamet) epic story, but Dune: Prophecy also needs to properly introduce a crucial faction that Villeneuve failed to include in his movies.