It's time for a blast to the past, with HBO's Dune: Prophecy, taking place over 10,000 years before Paul Atreides' birth.
Episode 1, titled "The Hidden Hand," is now streaming on Max, introducing audiences to the universe following the war against "thinking machines."
In this era of world-building, the new series centers on sisters Valya (Emily Watson) and Tula Harkonnen (Olivia Williams) as they face threats endangering humanity's future and lay the foundation for the Bene Gesserit order.
Busy actress Emma Canning joins the Prophecy cast, along with singer, model, and actress Jihae as Emperor Corrino's (Mark Strong) Truthsayer, Reverend Mother Kasha.
The Direct was able to sit down exclusively with Jihae to discuss her experience working on Dune: Prophecy and her shocking final scene in Episode 1.
The Sisterhood and Its Unique Take on Power
"When I heard that it was a role of a Truthsayer...I thought, 'Perfect.'"
- The Direct: "Can you tell us a bit about your character, Reverend Mother Kasha, and what initially drew you to this role?"
Jihae: "The process was that Alison Schapker, who I've worked with before in 'Altered Carbon,' let me know that she had me in mind for this particular role. And when I heard that it was a role of a Truthsayer who is the right hand of the emperor of the known universe, and she tells him what to do, I thought, 'Perfect'...so, yeah, that was an easy one."
"This is a story about the Sisterhood...That's a huge difference."
The Direct: "Dune is such an iconic universe with deep lore. How does Dune: Prophecy feel different from or similar to other adaptations?"
Jihae: "Well, this is a story about the Sisterhood. And how they have come to basically be in charge of the lineage of the ruling, the governing bodies, and how women used to rule the world. That's a huge difference to the movies, I think."
Crafting Dynamics with Mark Strong
"Working with Mark [Strong] was a lot of fun...the main focus was on making sure that the wedding was going through."
The Direct: "What was it like working alongside Mark Strong, and how would you describe the dynamic between your character and his?"
Jihae: "Working with Mark [Strong] was a lot of fun and we played around with a lot of different ways. And I thought one way was that she controlled him in multiple arenas. And we ended up just having it go very strictly one way, with her allegiance to the Sisterhood and just going to make sure that the main focus was on making sure that the wedding was going through... playing on his weakness."
Martial Arts Training Behind Dune: The Sisterhood
"All that process was really great because it really bonded us. And it made it feel realistic for us to be part of the Sisterhood."
The Direct: "Did you have a specific training process to learn for the fighting seen in Episode 1?"
Jihae: "So there was actually a lot of training. We started the series in end of 2022. So we went through two different types of training.
The first one was really interesting esoteric types of training. Where we worked with these two wonderful performance artists and we would do things like we would walk across the room as if we're floating as if we don't have any feet...We would close our eyes and be in teams of twos, and we would pretend that we- no not pretend, we would try to intuitively see what the other person was doing and movement wise and follow. There was one time where Chloe [Lea] and I got teamed up and I started with my eyes closed following her movements...
And then there was training in 2023. They came up with a whole martial arts, it's own form of martial arts mixed with like Tai Chi and I guess like Jeet Kune Do or something like this, where we had this one form that we all had to learn. All that process was really great because it really bonded us. And it made it feel realistic for us to be part of the Sisterhood, because we went through a lot of time together."
Mastering Sign Language of the Sisterhood
"The sign language was created...I had to learn it precisely."
The Direct: Reverend Mother Kasha is seen communicating with sign language in Episode 1. What was the process of learning it?
Jihae: "The sign language was created, I believe, by the same stunt people from 'Dune' the movie. And yeah, each sign had meaning behind it. And yes, I had to learn it precisely, even if it was going to be shown below like this. And we did communicate and learn the sign language that way. And the same way, like what signifies the- When I start to look into Desmond Hart's eyes... to see if he's telling the truth or not."
Filming The Vision / Nightmare Sequences
"It's one of the more joyful and enjoyable scenes actually to do...It's as good as your vivid imagination."
The Direct: "In Episode 1, Kasha experiences haunting visions. Can you share how you approached portraying these moments, and what you feel these visions represent for her character?"
Jihae: "I tell you that's a lot better than doing like CGI stuff where you're in a green screen and you're just imagining a world... It's one of the more joyful and enjoyable scenes actually to do... I think just when you're imagining seeing something and something falling or something in front of you. It's as good as your vivid imagination. I mean, I think you can be as realistic as your imagination as realistic in your mind. And that's something we do as children and we kind of lose our ability or just kind of forget, like an instrument. It's fun to do it. I love it."
Jihae on Kasha's Fiery Fate and Filming Her Final Scene
"It was pretty wild and intense...I try to make it as fun as possible."
The Direct: "Reverend Mother Kasha’s fate is one of the first shocking moments of the series. Could you share what filming that pivotal death scene was like and how you prepared for it?"
Jihae: "There was no prosthetics. So all the burning stuff was all CGI. The shooting of that scene lasted three to four days...It was, it was pretty wild and intense and, and, uh, I try to make it as fun as possible... as humane as possible"
The Direct: "Did you know your character was going to die going into the project?"
Jihae: "I knew from the beginning about Kasha's journey. Yeah, I did."
The Complexity of Truth and Lies in The Sisterhood
"I think as a Truthsayer, or the best Truthsayer in the Sisterhood, or the most gifted, it's an important piece to know."
The Direct "In Episode 1, a member of the Sisterhood states, 'One of the most sophisticated tasks a brain can perform.' As the Truthsayers are able to read if people are telling the truth. What do you think of that idea?
Jihae: "Because I'm such a terrible liar, I may agree actually that it is a very sophisticated task. If you could do it convincingly. I think as a Truthsayer, or the best Truthsayer in the Sisterhood, or the most gifted, it's an important piece to know. But, you know, sometimes people lie to protect. Sometimes people lie for personal gain. How bad is a lie? It's a question. There's definitely levels of lying. So a sophisticated task indeed."
Dune: Prophecy Episode 1 is now streaming on Max.
