Prime Video\u2019s Blade Runner 2099<\/strong><\/a><\/em> is coming to show the disappointing Dune: Prophecy<\/a><\/em> how to successfully turn an iconic sci-fi movie franchise into a prestige TV drama. As a big fan of both Frank Herbert\u2019s books and Denis Villeneuve\u2019s movies<\/a>, Dune: Prophecy<\/em> was one of my most highly anticipated shows of 2024. But when it premiered on HBO, it turned out to be one of the biggest let-downs of 2024.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dune: Prophecy<\/em> takes place 10,000 years before<\/a> the birth of Paul Atreides, so it\u2019s disconnected from anything we\u2019re already attached to by an absurd margin. The war against the thinking machines, seen briefly in montage form in the prologue, would\u2019ve made for a much more exciting TV show than what we got.<\/p>\n Dune: Prophecy<\/em> has been renewed for a second season at HBO, and it\u2019s set to premiere sometime in 2026 after the long-awaited returns of Euphoria<\/em>, House of the Dragon<\/em>, and Larry David. But there\u2019s a different streaming spinoff from a beloved sci-fi movie franchise that looks a lot more promising than Dune: Prophecy<\/em> season 2<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n With his two-part adaptation of Dune<\/em>, Villeneuve has done the impossible and filmed the unfilmable. The first volume of Villeneuve\u2019s cinematic adaptation deftly set up the world and the characters that inhabit it, then the second volume stuck the landing with all the oomph that audiences were expecting. When Villeneuve\u2019s Dune<\/em>-iverse came to the small screen in an HBO drama, I couldn\u2019t have been more thrilled.<\/p>\n But, unlike a lot of recent HBO franchise spinoffs (The Penguin<\/em>, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms<\/em>), Dune: Prophecy<\/em> was deeply underwhelming<\/a>. It fell into the same trap as a lot of recent TV shows: it spells out all the emotional subtext in on-the-nose dialogue. Everyone says how they\u2019re feeling all the time, seemingly to appease viewers who aren\u2019t actually watching the screen, which can also be seen in The Last of Us<\/em> and House of the Dragon<\/em>.<\/p>\n In its six-episode run, Dune: Prophecy<\/em> had one great standalone installment: a Romeo and Juliet<\/em>-style forbidden love between an Atreides and a Harkonnen. That was a great episode, with clear, personal stakes. But the series as a whole was a massive let-down, especially considering how great the movies were.<\/p>\n I probably won\u2019t even bother tuning in to see Dune: Prophecy<\/em> season 2 later this year, unless it gets overwhelmingly positive reviews saying it finally lives up to the movies. But there is a different sci-fi spinoff show spun off from a Villeneuve film that I\u2019m eagerly anticipating. It\u2019s been in the works for a while, and it\u2019s almost here: Blade Runner 2099<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Like the second season of Dune: Prophecy<\/em>, Amazon\u2019s Blade Runner<\/em> TV show \u2014 dubbed Blade Runner 2099<\/em>, in line with the titling system set by Villeneuve\u2019s sequel \u2014 is scheduled to premiere sometime in 2026. And, out of the two streaming spinoffs from Villeneuve\u2019s masterpieces coming out this year, Blade Runner 2099<\/em> is the most exciting by far.<\/p>\n It has a more interesting premise, it has some really talented names involved, and it has a much more open future timeline than Dune: Prophecy<\/em>. Ridley Scott, the original director, is attached to Blade Runner 2099<\/em> as an executive producer, just like he was on Alien: Earth<\/em> last year, so it\u2019s in safe hands.<\/p>\n Blade Runner 2099<\/em> stars Everything Everywhere All at Once<\/em> Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh as Olwen, an aging replicant facing the end of her life. This role will give Yeoh plenty of dramatic substance to chew on \u2014 sentience, mortality, conflicted emotions \u2014 and her co-star is the brilliant, underutilized Hunter Schafer, better known as Jules from Euphoria<\/em>.<\/p>\n Blade Runner 2099<\/strong><\/em> is set after the movies, so it\u2019s not boxed in by a prequel timeline like Dune: Prophecy<\/em>. All signs point to this being a much better Villeneuve movie spinoff.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n Dune: Prophecy Failed To Live Up To The Denis Villeneuve Movies
\n <\/h2>\n\n Blade Runner 2099 Stands A Better Chance Of Replicating Its Franchise’s Big Screen Success
\n <\/h2>\n![\"Ryan](\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ryan-gosling-from-blade-runner-2049.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2\"\/)
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