Posted in: Max, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: dune, dune: prophecy, HBO, max, The Penguin

The Penguin, Dune: Prophecy Are Now Officially HBO Originals, Too

Joining Lanterns, Welcome to Derry, and "Harry Potter," The Penguin and Dune: Prophecy are now officially listed as HBO Original series.

The first sign of a major shift in programming strategy in terms of upcoming series with hefty pricetags was when the news hit last month that HBO (not Max) had given an eight-episode direct-to-series order for Showrunner & EP Chris Mundy's Green Lantern Series for DC Studios, Lanterns. Shortly after, we would learn that filmmakers Andy Muschietti & Barbara Muschietti (It, It Chapter Two) and Jason Fuchs' (It Chapter Two, Wonder Woman) Welcome to Derry: From The World of "It" and the live-action series adaptation of J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" novels would also now have a home on HBO as "HBO Originals" and not on the streaming service. But at the time, it appeared that "Dune" prequel series Dune: Prophecy and Matt Reeves' Colin Farrell-starring "The Batman" spinoff series The Penguin would remain listed as "Max Originals." Apparently, the change for shows premiering in 2025 was easy to pull off – but not so much for the two that are set to hit screens this year. Reportedly, a switch couldn't happen contractually because both shows were already sold as "Max Originals" on the international market, and there wouldn't be enough time to redo the red tape that would be needed for it to become a reality.

Just kidding! Actually, we weren't kidding about what you just read – that's real. What the "kidding" part was about was the news that hit earlier today, proving that, apparently, there was some time to renegotiate after all. HBO and Max CEO Casey Bloys has a reason to smile today, now that Dune: Prophecy and The Penguin have officially (and more importantly, contractually) been rebranded as "HBO Originals" – with both series set to air on HBO and stream on Max. Many see the overall Max-to-HBO move as Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav following through on his promise to focus less on direct-to-streaming original content – which is another way of saying that "Max Original" is being scaled back dramatically.

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