The HBO Max original series Dune: Prophecy expands the “Duniverse” with a gripping origin story set 10,000 years before Paul Atreides. Created by Diane Ademu-John and inspired by the novel Sisterhood of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, the series follows the formative years of the Bene Gesserit, weaving political drama and mysticism into a sprawling sci-fi epic.

We connected with two of the series editors, Anna Hauger, ACE, and Amelia Allwarden, ACE, to learn how they shaped Dune: Prophecy, navigating rich lore and complex storylines. Deep collaboration with other teams—especially visual effects—helped to problem-solve and bring cohesion, while remote review tools like Evercast aided in facilitating that creative partnership across time zones.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Knowing that Dune has such a strong legacy, how did you balance honoring the previous installments and pleasing the mega-fans, while adapting to a new format and creating something fresh?

Anna Hauger, ACE: Dune is definitely a dense IP with a large fan base. It’s a lot to live up to. We tried to put that thought on the back burner and really focus on what the show wanted to be. This starts at the script stage and continues into the post. I like to approach my work by starting with character. The work our brilliant actors did to embody their characters really hit the nail on the head, in terms of making the show fit in the established Dune world, while still making it an entity of its own. I think letting the cut come together holistically without trying to shoehorn it into some preconceived notion of what it should be helped to allow it to find its own place in the Duniverse. 

Amelia Allwarden, ACE: Like Anna said, it all starts with the character. One of the wonderful things about Alison Schapker‘s writing is that it’s very character-forward. I wanted to edit from the perspective of each character while crafting these scenes, and figure out the way that this story wanted to be told. I think if we’re not doing it that way, we’re just trying to mimic something else, and that’s not the way to tell a story. I’m a huge fan of the Denis [Villeneuve] films, but it was nice to be able to craft our show to be a part of its own little world. 
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Given your past work on series like Westworld and Watchmen, you're no strangers to layered, nonlinear storytelling. What lessons or instincts carried over into Dune: Prophecy? How did it challenge you in new ways? 

Anna: I’ve been fortunate to work on some great sci-fi series over the course of my career. I absolutely carry lessons from each show onto the next. I think the string that binds them all is that each show has had a space for creative storytelling through editing. So I’ve been able to practice and experiment with lots of unconventional non-linear techniques. On so many shows I’ve been on—Westworld, Watchmen, Station Eleven, and now Dune: Prophecy—I’ve gotten to explore how best to convey the sense of memory through picture and sound. In Westworld, we had the emergence of robot sentience, and the power of cornerstone memories that we would cut to in order to heighten our character’s emotions in the present. In Watchmen we explored generational trauma in an episode where auditory and visual memories of the past were forced onto our main character, an intrusion of memories she was powerless to stop. In Station Eleven, we were confronted with a different kind of trauma: the collective trauma of surviving a deadly pandemic. In [Dune: Prophecy], we were given the freedom to play around with the past and present, creating scenes where you could see the past literally informing how our characters were behaving in the present day. Having had the freedom to try some out-of-the-box, almost experimental techniques on past shows informed many of the editorial decisions I made in episode six of Dune: Prophecy: how to transition to the past to maximize the emotional effect, how to maximize the impact of Valya facing her fears and emotional trauma in The Mindkiller, etc. 

Amelia: When I first joined the Westworld team on season two, I was struck by how editors Andy Seklir and Anna Hauger had no ego about the scenes that they were putting together. The whole season was a group effort, and if the way that we wanted to tell the story was better by rearranging all of the scenes, then we would at least try it. It untethered me from the idea of having to tell something in a linear fashion, or needing to tell something in the way it was scripted just because it was scripted that way. Alison Schapker is an incredible showrunner, because once we got to the editing stage of Dune: Prophecy, there were a lot of different ways we could weave these character’s stories together. It frees you editorially from the burden of having to keep things as it was “supposed” to be. When you work with people who have such open minds about telling stories in different ways, it makes for a huge editorial stamp. 
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What would you say were the greatest obstacles you faced while working on Dune: Prophecy, both creative and technical?

Anna: Every show comes with its set of creative and technical challenges. On Dune: Prophecy one of the biggest creative challenges was figuring out how to balance all of the different storylines. When do we cut from the A plot to the B plot without sacrificing momentum or the emotional throughline of the story? For example, in the finale, we went through many iterations of the climax of the episode. We needed to figure out the right time to cut out of our main set piece, “The Mindkiller,” and transition to Tula’s arrival on Salusa Secundus without sacrificing the excitement and momentum we established with Valya. We needed to figure out when to cut between Tula in the real world and Valya in her mind space, and how to best land the emotional resonance of their sisterly bond. This whole process was intensely collaborative. Evercast allowed us to connect with our directors, showrunner, and producers wherever any of us were in the world to work through any and all creative problems. 

Amelia: One of the issues we faced while editing Dune: Prophecy is that the production was filming in Budapest and we were editing in Los Angeles. Evercast was really helpful with this because we could work with our showrunner Alison Schapker and Executive Producer Jordan Goldberg, or with directors—without having to be on location. 
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Who was collaborating on Evercast day-to-day, and where were they based?

Anna: We were given the opportunity to be hybrid on Dune: Prophecy. For the most part, people were able to choose whether they were in the office or work from home. This was only possible thanks to the efficacy and stability of the Evercast platform. We relied on Evercast on a near-daily basis to help us get through the post process. The show was filmed in Budapest with post-production based primarily in LA. I was based in Colorado during dailies. We would use Evercast to interface with our showrunner, Alison Schapker, and producer, Jordan Goldberg, who were in Budapest during production. I’d often be on Evercast with my LA-based AE, Adam Neely, to discuss scenes and sound work during our editor’s cut. Music spots were held remotely with our German-based composer, Volker Bertelmann. We even occasionally used Evercast from the mix stage to quickly interface with team members if potential issues were spotted. 

Amelia: Yes, like Anna said, it was great that we had a hybrid workflow. I find it really important to be in person to work and collaborate with other editors, directors, and showrunners—but Evercast is a unique tool because we can bring in people who may not be geographically near us in the cutting room. We would use it for visual effects reviews, for editorial reviews, and just to chat with other editors. It’s a really multifaceted tool that [makes it] quick and easy to be able to bring anybody we want into the cutting room from afar. 
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I understand you worked closely with the VFX team to refine key sequences. Can you walk us through how you helped shape some of these specific moments editorially? 

Anna: We had a great collaboration with our visual effects team. Visual effects would often inform story, and story would often inform VFX, so there was a constant back-and-forth between the teams. In episode 6, the big VFX centerpiece was a scene we referred to as “The Mindkiller.” In it, Valya is forced to confront her fears and allow them to pass through her so she can see who the true enemy is. This scene was shot almost entirely on blue screen, and there were so many possibilities as to how the scene could be put together, and how it would look. Amelia and I were in constant conversation with our VFX supervisor, Mike Enriquez, and VFX producer, Terron Pratt. There were so many specific story beats that had to be hit with VFX. For example, the black snow in The Mindkiller space was a visual representation of Valya’s fear. Just this one facet of the VFX went through so many iterations to get the amounts just right. 

Amelia: Another example of that would be anything to do with Anirul in the cavern—the thinking machine that the sisters use as a genetic tool. This was also a big collaboration between visual effects and editorial because we needed to illustrate certain people's lineage, the way families come together, what characters are looking at, and how this room works. But we also needed to interweave that with the performance and the storytelling. 
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How did Evercast support your collaboration with the VFX team? 

Anna: Evercast supported our collaboration with the VFX team tremendously. During production, Mike and Terron were on location in Budapest. Evercast allowed us to stay in communication with them and discuss key shots from the early stages. Evercast’s “draw” function makes pointing out areas of interest or concern so easy and helps keep the lines of communication clear. When everybody was back in LA, Evercast allowed us all the flexibility to work remotely from home and still be able to communicate with ease. 
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What value do you feel that Evercast brought to the table overall?

Anna: Evercast gave us the ability to remain connected to the team no matter where we were in the world. I’m so grateful to have been able to spend time closer to my family during certain stages of post without sacrificing the quality of my work. Being able to connect remotely and have an experience that so closely mimics being in an edit bay is invaluable. 

Amelia: It’s really nice that Evercast has video [conferencing] built into it, because I like to be able to watch the faces of producers or directors while I’m showing them a scene or a cut. It’s the closest thing I can find that mimics the feeling of watching a cut in the room with somebody. You have to feel how their emotions are, and what’s landing on them, and what’s not. It's an integral part of the editing workflow.