Carolyn Loucks: World-Building the Universe of Dune: Prophecy

Creating a rich and contrasting sci-fi world for Dune: Prophecy was not an easy undertaking. With Denis Villeneuve’s visionary films bringing the beloved franchise back on the silver screen, the pressure was on showrunner Allison Schapker and team to branch out and tell a prequel story that felt fresh while still connecting to what has been already established. Nominated in this year’s Emmy Awards for Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Period or Fantasy Program (among other categories), the HBO series showcased a monumental production featuring immersive sets for the three major factions: Bene Gesserit, House Corrino, and House Harkonnen. Set decorator Carolyn Loucks shared that in just five months from January 2023 her team of 130 artists split between the UK and Budapest delivered most of the key character sets for the show within the first 9 days of shooting. Making each piece of furniture would take around 10 weeks from concept to approved design to manufacturing, finishing, and dressing onto the set–with hundreds and hundreds of pieces to design per set that not only needed to work visually but also functionally.

Being set 10,000 years before the rise of Paul Atreides, for Prophecy there was a creative freedom that is rare in important IPs such as Dune. Loucks shared that Schapker and HBO were very interested in delving into how these humans interacted with their planets and the elements that they live in and how it contrasted what we see chronologically later in the films. “We wanted a connection to the movies and see that transformation in a concrete way.” For example, Loucks explained that “the Corrino Palace is on a Mediterranean ecology, and when you cut to the movies, 10,000 years in the future, they’ve used up all of the bounty of that ecology. We wanted to show that there was a lushness and a richness and that the direction that was going to happen in the next thousands of years was a depletion of that wealth … a scarcity of spice, food and water.” She added that the ultimate goal was for the show to be connected but have a distinctly different look, considering the fact that there was also a historical rebirth at the time caused by the destructive Machine Wars 100 years back but also taking a look at the history of human existence to create a visual anchor with our world: “Our materials are coming from different planets and resources. We’re using a certain amount of sci-fi principles to how furniture is made and created by elongating them and tapering things … that works very well with the epic scale of Dune and the massive worlds.”

The library of the Bene Gesserit is arguably the most important visual storyteller for the group—a source of immense knowledge. Carolyn Loucks confessed that in the early stages of development, before she joined the project, the set was not conceptualized to be a library but more a main hallway assembly for the convent. Production designer Tom Meyer and Loucks had several discussions about what would make the most impact for the very first set seen on the show, and came up with the library: “It really changed everything. Suddenly we were putting a carpet on the floor and filling it with books. What are books in the Dune canon, what do they look like? How do you interact with them? It was sort of an explosive design idea that Tom and I had … it is just as epic in person as it is on camera.” Loucks then added different touches to make the space as functional and as identifiable as possible, adding fabulous desk lights on the center tables which were adjustable for optimal studying.

Another fascinating aspect of set decoration is chairs. In sci-fi, chairs subtly add to the actor’s performance–informing ranking and power and so much more. “The chairs in Mother Superior’s office needed to have a sense of rigidity [that represents] hierarchy as opposed to the simple chairs in the library. They were very much inspired from Japanese modern designs, and so there’s something really beautiful and simple about those chairs, and the girth of them allowed the prince to sort of lean back and lounge when he first visits the convent, but most of the sisters sat forward and upright because the chairs are very formal at the same time,” the set decorator explained.

In contrast to the Bene Gesserit’s gloomy and rigid environment, the Imperial Palace of Corrino is as grandiose as it gets–with luxurious furnishings and warm lighting. The wealth of the family is fully displayed here, with massive, gorgeous chandeliers (which Loucks revealed took four people to move), incredible wall sconces and pendant lights. Showcasing the Emperor’s power is his throne, a design that is far from conventional but perfectly fits with the world of Dune: “Several designers came up with concepts. We did a lot of research on different thrones in sci-fi and through history. It’s an enormous amount of research, but at the end of the day, we wanted it to feel very heavy and that everyone had to crawl sort of up to the Emperor. We didn’t want the same high back, we wanted the stone behind to sort of be the majesty of the Corrino family,” Loucks said.

Just like the Bene Gesserit library, the Imperial salon is a key environment that sets the tone and dynamics revolving around the complicated royal marriage. Carolyn Loucks shared that the design of this set was originally the Empress’ bedroom, but was changed to have a day-to-day living quarter where husband and wife could privately interact with each other. “I think the writing desk and the two sofas spoke largely of all the wealth and the luxury, but also the distance. The way the sofas are opposed to each other informs how they keep their distance … they’re standing most of the time, they’re not relaxed and leaning back on the sofas and having a great old time. They’re locked in marriage, so the room is very formal,” she explained.

Back to darker tones, the Harkonnen Penthouse is the perfect portrayal of a fallen house with deep history. Loucks said about its design, “The scale of the Penthouse had to be of a grand nature, but it’s literally crumbling around them. The characters are bitter, desperate to reclaim their fame and fortune. The dressing, the tables, the chairs needed to show that they had a grand existence at one point and then were completely falling apart. So again, I was inspired by the traditional Roman cross chairs. We put the crest of the Harkonnen family into the backs of them, carved into the wood. I wanted to show the history of the family, their whaling history. So much of that room has a dangerous quality to it. If you look at the chandelier, it’s got harpoons, spears, all pointing downwards, hanging over the table. The benches at the very front of the entrance way have harpoons built into the leather tufting. The massive shades were my version of whale skin [laughs]! They had old sailor tattoos with cryptic wording all the way through. It’s all very dangerous looking, and I love it!”

Reflecting upon her journey so far (Season Two is already in development), Carolyn Loucks is proud of the immense work her team accomplished for Dune: Prophecy: “It’s always a pleasure to see these designs and the fact that it all came true, exactly how we envisioned it to be … there were no compromises.” Make sure to catch up on season one, available on HBO Max.