The Penguin and Dune: Prophecy will now be HBO originals moving away from Max

Two of the most anticipated shows of the year, Dune: Prophecy and The Penguin, both spinoffs to huge WB franchises, will now be HBO originals, changing their branding from Max originals. This comes a month after Harry Potter, Lanterns, and IT prequel, Welcome To Derry, were all rebranded to HBO originals.

This is a bid to bring the most popular shows from Max under the HBO umbrella, which will allow premium cable airing as well as streaming release on Max. When the other three shows were shifted, HBO and Max content CEO Casey Bloys confirmed that the shows airing before 2025 would not make this shift. However, with some new deal-making, HBO and Max have managed to shift these two spinoffs to HBO as well.

The shows were reportedly already sold to international outlets as Max originals. Though Bloys had already discussed the potential of these two titles as good HBO originals.

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Dune: Prophecy and The Penguin fall perfectly under the HBO umbrella

Dune: Prophecy and The Penguin both are extremely suited for release on the premium cable network. Both titles are spinoffs of extremely successful WB productions and already seem set for success ahead of their respective releases.

The Penguin is a direct follow-up of Matt Reeves' highly acclaimed The Batman, a movie that remains a defining superhero entry in recent years. The Penguin will continue the story set in Gotham but will focus on Collin Farrel's Oswald Cobblepot as the protagonist. The set of trailers that were released earlier seems to indicate similar aesthetics and treatment to that of Matt Reeves' The Batman.

The eight-episode series will follow Cobblepot's rise to power as he grapples with the loose threads of power left in The Batman and makes his way to the top of Gotham's criminal underworld. The series will also serve as a prequel to The Batman II, which is set to continue Bruce Wayne's (Robert Pattinson) journey as he fights off crime and saves the city from spiraling further into darkness.

As for Dune: Prophecy, it is not as directly related to Denis Villenueve's Dune and Dune: Part Two. Instead, it focuses on the origin story of the Bene Gesserit, the group of women we have already seen in the movies. The synopsis for the series reads:

"From the expansive universe of ‘Dune,’ created by acclaimed author Frank Herbert, and 10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides, ‘Dune: Prophecy’ 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 series has already cast a hoard of stars, including Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, Travis Fimmel, Johdi May, Mark Strong, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Josh Heuston, Chloe Lea, Jade Anouka, Faoileann Cunningham, Edward Davis, Aoife Hinds, Tabu, Chris Mason and Shalom Brune-Franklin.

More details about both shows are expected to arrive soon. Stay tuned for updates.