Do you need to read Dune before watching the films and the show? Explained

It's been a huge year for Dune fans as they have not only gotten a film that adapts the second half of the original novel by Frank Herbert but also a prequel HBO show that is currently streaming on Max. Having adapted this classic sci-fi world, the franchise is one of the biggest success stories right now and has garnered a huge amount of fans in 2024 alone.

With Dune being so popular again, the debate around whether one should read the books before jumping into the big and small screen adaptations of the franchise, has begun. However, while the books themselves are a great read, one can watch the two films and the show without having read the books.

However, some might feel that reading the books before watching the Timothee Chalament starrer films helps enhance the experience.

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The Dune films adapt each half of the novel

The main reason that fans don't need to read the Dune novel before watching the films is because both Dune: Part One and Part Two adapt the novel. The first film adapts the first half of the novel and ends with Paul and Lady Jessica finding the Fremen, and Part Two ends with Paul defeating the forces of the Emperor and taking over his throne as the holy war begins.

The novel itself has been split into two movies and they both act as a singular adaptation of the book. As per the wiki of the novel, the synopsis of the novel reads as:

"The novel tells the story of young Paul Atreides, heir apparent to Duke Leto Atreides I and scion of House Atreides, as he and his family relocate to the planet Arrakis, the universe's only source of the spice melange. In a story that explores the complex interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion, the fate of Paul, his family, his new planet and its native inhabitants, as well as the Padishah Emperor, the powerful Spacing Guild, and the secretive female order of the Bene Gesserit, are all drawn together into a confrontation that will change the course of humanity."

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Why fans don't need to read the novel before watching Dune: Prophecy?

The main reason that fans don't need to read the novel before watching Dune: Prophecy is because the show takes place over 10,000 years before the arrival of Paul Atreides. It tells a brand new story that follows two Harkonnen sisters Valya and Tula Harkonnen as they fight for the future of humanity after seeing that a reckoning is coming. The show also explores the origins of the Bene Gesserit.

As a matter of fact, it has rather taken inspiration from Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's Sisterhood of Dune.

The official synopsis of the same reads as:

"The Show follows two Harkonnen sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind and establish the fabled sect that will become known as the Bene Gesserit."

The show stars Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, Mark Strong, Travis Fimmel, Jessica Barden and more. A new episode of the show drops every Sunday on Max.