Warning: Contains major spoilers for “Dune: Part Two” and “Dune: Prophecy.”
The story of “Dune” is, on many levels, a story about family. At the heart of Denis Villeneuve’s lauded science fiction films (based on the seminal novels written by Frank Herbert) is the coming-of-age story of young Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), whose journey into manhood is closely guided by his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) and the shadow of his father Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac).
Shifting the lens from the intimate to the intergalactic, however, we see the universe is largely controlled by the sprawling families of three Major Houses: the Imperial House Corrino, the ostensibly altruistic House Atreides, and their bitter, badder rivals House Harkonnen. When 2021’s “Dune” begins, the latter two houses are engaged in a feud almost as old as the Corrino Empire itself.
Their relationship is made all the more complicated in “Dune: Part Two” (which delves into the Kwisatz Haderach breeding program meant to bind them to the will of the mysterious Bene Gesserit) and in the HBO series “Dune: Prophecy.” Setting the books (mostly) aside for the time being, we’ll explain the Atreides & Harkonnen family tree in “Dune” as comprehensively as possible — as well as the implications their lineage have for the future of the Imperium.
Bear in mind that while we won’t be spoiling the “Dune” novels (or sharing potential spoilers for future films and series adapting them), this task can’t be done without dropping major spoilers for both “Dune: Part Two” and “Dune: Prophecy.”