Who is Desmond Hart & What Are His Powers?

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home November 27, 2024 3 Views 9 Min Read
Who is Desmond Hart & What Are His Powers?



Key Takeaways

  • Dune: Prophecy explores the origin story of the Bene Gesserit, introducing the mysterious character Desmond Hart.
  • Desmond’s powers and mysterious background are yet to be explained.
  • The authenticity of Desmond’s powers remains unclear, with some theories suggesting they may be linked to a Sandworm encounter.



Dune: Prophecy is taking audiences back thousands of years before Denis Villeneuve’s blockbuster films, covering the origin story of the sisterhood that goes on to be known as the Bene Gesserit. While the sisterhood holds immense power and influence, one foil that was introduced in the first episode was a new character, Desmond Hart.

The new HBO series takes things back to a time shortly after the end of man’s war with the Thinking Machines, in a time when Javicco Corrino (Mark Strong) is an emperor over a fragile peace. Similar to the Dune films, maintaining control of Arrakis is a key piece of power in the universe, and is something Corrino is seen to be struggling with. Meanwhile, the Sisterhood is preparing to welcome Corrino’s daughter into their ranks, who will be mentored by the Harkonnen sisters, Valya (Emily Watson) and Tula (Olivia Williams). As seen in Frank Herbert’s novels and the Dune films, the Sisterhood holds a strong belief in maintaining power through a breeding program among the great houses, but their plans are threatened by many forces in Dune: Prophecy.


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Who is Desmond Hart in Dune Prophecy

Vikings and Raised by Wolves star Travis Fimmel stars Desmond Hart in Dune: Prophecy, an original character created for the HBO show. This makes Hart an even more mysterious character, as there is no lore about him to draw upon, making him a true wildcard in the show. Hart is introduced as a charismatic soldier who served the Corrino house faithfully for 12 tours on Arrakis. Hart’s job was to defend the emperor’s spice harvesting operations, but after his regiment was attacked, he was presumed dead along with the rest of his troupe. That is until he arrived at the Emperor’s palace, alive and well. Desmond reveals to Corrino that his team was not attacked by Freman as had been assumed, but instead, it was an attack from within the Imperium.


Something About Desmond’s Story Doesn’t Add Up

Despite Corrino’s truth-sayer confirming Desmond’s tale, something did not add up in the soldier’s story, as the Emperor finds out later after reviewing footage of the incident. In this footage, he sees Desmond in the sand, waiting openly to be attacked by a sandworm, which swallows him whole. Desmond later proves his worth by capturing a small robot lizard that the young groom, Pruwett Richese, had on his person at his royal wedding.


The wedding is one that had been orchestrated by the Sisterhood between Pruwett and Corrino’s daughter Ynez, which Valya confirmed would secure the bloodline for future generations. Their plan all comes crashing down, however, when later Desmond corners Pruwett and tells him his sacrifice “will save millions.” Pruwett then begins to burn to death, at the same time that the Emperor’s truth-sayer, Kasha, begins to burn in the same way millions of miles away. Desmond is seemingly responsible for these deaths, with the character seen touching his temple as he looks on at Pruwett burning, possibly hinting at a strange new mind power that hasn’t been seen in Dune before.

What Are Desmond’s Powers and How Did He Get Them?

Desmond Hart in Dune Prophecy

The truth behind Desmond’s powers and origins will no doubt be explored in upcoming episodes of Dune: Prophecy, but that hasn’t stopped plenty of theories circling the mysterious new character. Many believe that Desmond’s powers may be fake, considering the Dune franchise has never involved any kind of pyrokinetic abilities. If Desmond does end up being a con man who gains influence over the Emperor, particularly with these strange godly abilities, this could be the event that kickstarts the Bene Gesserit’s Kwisatz Haderach prophecy.


This prophecy is the one that ends up concerning Paul Atreides in the Dune movies. It’s known that the Bene Gesserit can unlock their ancestral memories through the poisonous Water of Life, but they can only do this on the female side, as the memories from their male ancestry cause them terror. The Kwisatz Haderach, on the other hand, is a prophesized male Bene Gesserit who would have access to both male and female ancestry and gain new powers like the ability to bridge space and time. If Dune: Prophecy ends up being about the origins of the Kwisatz Haderach, perhaps Desmond Hart could serve as a warning to the sisterhood about the dangers of a false messiah, and he could further add to the Sisterhood’s mistrust of men.

Could Desmond’s Powers Be Legit?

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So, if Desmond is faking his powers, how does he manage to murder Pruwett and Kasha? One possibility is that Desmond is using a kind of remote-activated poisoning or some advanced technology that is eliciting this response in his victims. On the other hand, however, Desmond’s powers could be legit.

One question the series still needs to answer is how Desmond survived being swallowed by a sandworm. The Shai-Hulud are sacred creatures to the Freman on Arrakis and are believed to be the embodiment of the God that created the universe. Potentially, coming into such close contact with a sandworm and surviving to tell the tale may have given Desmond some supernatural abilities that are new to the Dune universe. Desmond does reference a “gift” he received from Shai-Hulud, after all. The answer will no doubt be revealed as Dune: Prophecy gets deeper into its story.

New episodes of Dune: Prophecy are released on Sundays on Max.

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