Breaking Down the Complex Family Tree in the Dune Universe

You may recognize the names of the main players in HBO's Dune prequel series, Dune: Prophecy. Frank Herbert's Dune books and the film adaptations by Denis Villeneuve center on Paul Atreides, a prophet of sorts plagued by his calling to overthrow the galactic order. Paul spends most of the first Dune novel avenging the death of his father at the hands of a villain named Baron Harkonnen and the Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV, both of whom believe Paul's family to be a threat to their power.

Dune: Prophecy is set 10,000 years before the birth of Paul. But somehow the names and even system of government are familiar. The Corrino family rules the Imperium. The Harkonnens and Atreides are still rivals and major players in the galaxy's political realm. The line of the Emperor in Dune: Prophecy, Javicco Corrino, will eventually produce Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV. Keiran Atreides is related to Paul. And Valya Harkonnen, the main character in Prophecy, will eventually link to Paul's rival Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen.

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Here is how the characters in Dune: Prophecy relate to those in Dune.

The Corrino Family in Dune: Prophecy

When the series begins, Emperor Javicco Corrino (Mark Strong) rules over the Imperium. He and his wife, Empress Natalya Arat Corrino (Jodhi May), have two children: Constantine Corrino (Josh Heuston) and Ynez Corrino (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina). Ynez, the older of the two, is betrothed to a (very) young man and plans to train with the Sisterhood to become a Truthsayer while she waits for her fiancé to grow up.

Unfortunately for the boy, he carries a “thinking machine” as a toy—and AI is forbidden in the Imperium. A mysterious figure named Desmond Hart, who has the ability to set people aflame using only his mind, kills the boy, causing a rift in the Corrino family between those who see Desmond’s gift as a potential weapon vs. those who see it as a threat.

The Harkonnen Family in Dune: Prophecy

Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen (Jessica Barden, and then Emily Watson) is the protagonist of Dune: Prophecy. She runs the Sisterhood, which will eventually become the Bene Gesserit, with the support of her actual sister, Reverend Mother Tula Harkonnen (Emma Canning, and then Olivia Williams).

Valya often speaks of restoring the Harkonnen family name. According to the Dune prequels written by Frank Herbert's son, Brian Herbert, long before Valya was born, the peoples of the Dune series were enslaved by A.I. Humanity rose up against the machines and after about a century of fighting and the deaths of billions of humans, a man named Vorian Atreides endeavored to lead an army to take down the machines, once and for all, at the Battle of Corrin.

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The machines held two million humans captive, and Vorian decided he was willing to sacrifice those hostages in order to end the war. Bashar Abulurd Hakronnen, a soldier who served under Vorian, disagreed. He disabled the humans' weapons in hopes of saving the hostages. The result was a bloody battle that ended many lives. Afterward, Vorian branded Abulurd a traitor, and Abulurd was banished to an ice planet.

Valya, Abulurd's great-granddaughter, believes that Abulurd was doing something heroic, not cowardly. She vows to restore the Harkonnen family name and seek vengeance against the House of Atreides.

One of the Harkonnen family’s earliest attempts to decimate the Atreides family comes when she enlists her sister, Tula, to become involved with Orry Atreides. Tula poisons the entire Atreides family while on a camping trip with her betrothed, leaving only one boy alive.

The Atreides Family in Dune: Prophecy

Keiran Atreides (Chris Mason), the sword master for the emperor and his family, may be the only living Atreides by the time Javicco Corrino is ruling the Imperium. He is, presumably, a descendent of the boy left alive by Tula when she murdered the rest of the Atreides family. Currently Keiran seems to be spending as much time flirting with Princess Ynez as he is thinking about his family legacy.

The Corrino Family in Dune

Ten millennia have passed between the events of Dune: Prophecy and Dune. And yet, somehow, the Corrino family is still in power. Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV (Christopher Walken in the Denis Villeneuve movies) rules over the Imperium in Dune. He is attended to by his daughter, Princess Irulan Corrino (Florence Pugh), a Bene Gesserit whose writing appears in the Dune books.

Shaddam fears Duke Leto Atreides' popularity and helps Baron Vladimir Harkonnen kill Leto by lending the Harkonnens the royal family's elite military force, the Sarduakar. Paul Atreides eventually avenges his father by rallying the Fremen of the Desert Planet Arrakis to his cause, killing all the Harkonnens, and securing his spot as leader of the Imperium by betrothing himself to Princess Irulan.

The Harkonnen Family in Dune

The Harkonnen family of this era is led by Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. Baron Harkonnen believes that he has no children and names Feyd-Rautha, the son of his half-brother as heir to the family legacy. He also deploys his half-brother's other son, Glossu Rabban, known as Beast, in battle.

Unbeknownst to the Baron, he did sire a child. That girl grew up to be Lady Jessica, who became the concubine of Duke Leto Atreides and birthed Paul and Alia. That means that Baron Harkonnen is technically Paul's grandfather.

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The Bene Gesserit hid Jessica's parentage from her and initially instructed her when she became pregnant to ensure she gave birth to a girl. The cult's plan was to marry the female Atreides heir to Feyd-Rautha, and together they would birth the Kwisatz Haderach, or Chosen One. But instead, Jessica used her powers to ensure her first born was a boy.

The Atreides Family in Dune

Duke Leto Atreides is the pater familias of the Atreides clan in Dune. He and Lady Jessica had two children, Paul and Alia, though Alia was born after Leto had died. Paul is believed by many to be the Kwisatz Haderach and is able to wield special powers, though he doubts his status as the so-called chosen one throughout the story. His status as a hero or a villain comes into question as the story wears on. Alia, too, wields special powers even from the time she is in utero.