Dune: Prophecy star teases her "psychopath" character: "It's like playing Ted Bundy in a way"

What's it like to play a psychopath? A question actor Jessica Barden, best known for her role in the hit show The End of the F***ing World, found herself faced with when taking on the role of young Valya Harkonnen in upcoming spin-off show Dune: Prophecy.

Portraying the eventual Mother Superior of the Bene Gesserit, Barden wanted to try help audiences understand that the Harkonnen family aren't entirely evil, all while embracing her bad side as well.

"I always felt like I wanted to make my version of Valya uncomplicated. Just, who is this person that you meet for the first time, who begins to provide context for an audience that thinks the Harkonnens are completely, irredeemably bad?" Barden tells SFX magazine in the new issue, which features Wicked on the cover and hits newsstands on November 1. 

"It's probably as close to an old-school HBO, indie movie version of Dune. It goes into the backstory of Valya a lot more," she continues. "And that particular episode gave me context that the Valya I play needs to be completely grounded in the total authenticity of any young person, anywhere in the world who is like, 'Fuck this, I won't accept this. This is what I’m doing.' It's a mixture of blind excitement of having nothing to lose. Also, she's maybe a psychopath. It's like playing Ted Bundy, in a way."

The series dives into the life of second Mother Superior of the Sisterhood Valya Harkonnen (with Emily Watson taking over from Barden when we see the older version of the character), the most consequential architect of the matriarchal order which will eventually come to be known as the Bene Gesserit.

After a massive war among the universe's family Houses over the rise of destructive "thinking machines" (technology similar to AI and elevated computers), the Harkonnen House is on the losing end of the fight. They’re banished along with that tech, and young Valya (Barden) becomes consumed with restoring her family’s place in the universe. The spin-off show is set 10,000 years before the birth of Paul Atreides.

The cast includes Watson as older Valya, Olivia Williams as Tula Harkonnen, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Aoife Hinds, Travis Fimmel, Jade Anouka, Chloe Lea, and Chris Mason. 

Not a subscriber to SFX? Then head on over here to get the latest issues sent directly to your home/device!

Dune: Prophecy releases on November 17. Read more in the latest issue of SFX magazine, which features Wicked on the cover and will be available from Friday, November 1. 

For even more from SFX, sign up to our newsletter, which delivers all the latest exclusives straight to your inbox. Check out the covers below...