Last month, we learned that the Harry Potter reboot, It prequel Welcome to Derry, and DC Studios' Lanterns were all making the move from Max to HBO. This apparent shift away from streaming shocked many, but two upcoming titles weren't mentioned.
Those were The Penguin and Dune: Prophecy, both of which are now also heading to HBO.
Due to contractual issues stemming from each series being sold to international outlets as Max Originals, it was seemingly too late to change things. Somehow, HBO and Max CEO Casey Bloys has made it work!
While The Penguin and Dune: Prophecy will still stream on Max, they're now being branded as HBO Originals and will premiere on the cable network in the same way as House of the Dragon and The Last of Us.
As Variety explains, Bloys watched early cuts of The Penguin and decided pretty quickly that it would be a better fit for HBO. "What we ended up with is shows at this scope and scale that look great, and great narratives and talent we’ve worked with," the executive previously said.
"The idea of the delineation kind of started to feel unnecessary. Like, why are we doing this? Let’s just call them what they are: HBO shows."
Dune Prophecy is set 10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides and 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.
As for The Penguin, with Gotham City left in ruins by The Riddler's attack, Oz sees his chance to take charge of the late Carmine Falcone's criminal empire. Sal Maroni seems fine with that, though Sofia Falcone is making her own power play and unwilling to let her father's former lackey take over.
The cast also includes Cristin Milioti (Sofia Falcone), Rhenzy Feliz (Victor Aguilar), Michael Kelly (Johnny Viti), Shohreh Aghdashloo (Nadia Maroni), Deirdre O’Connell (Francis Cobb), Clancy Brown (Salvatore Maroni), James Madio (Milos Grapa), Scott Cohen (Luca Falcone), Michael Zegen (Alberto Falcone), Carmen Ejogo (Eve Karlo), and Theo Rossi (Dr. Julian Rush).
The series is executive produced by Matt Reeves, Dylan Clark, Colin Farrell, Lauren LeFranc, who writes and serves as showrunner, Craig Zobel, who directs the first three episodes, and Bill Carraro.
Both The Penguin and Dune: Prophecy will premiere on HBO this fall. It's also been confirmed today that The Penguin will have a presence at this year's San Diego Comic-Con...