Legendary and HBO’sDuneprequel seriesDune: The Sisterhoodis worming its way forward. The latest news is thatObi-Wan KenobiandGame of Thronesactress Indira Varma has joined the cast of the show.
Frank Herbert’sDune, first published in 1965, is often listed as one of the most successful sci-fi novels in history and spawned dozens of sequels and prequels. Last year, the original novel was adapted into a film bymodern master of science fiction Denis Villeneuve(Arrival,Blade Runner 2049). Following the commercial and critical success of the 2021 film, distributor Warner Bros. Pictures commissioned not only a sequel film but also a prequel TV series,Dune: The Sisterhood, to be developed by Legendary Television for HBO Max.
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As reported byDeadline, Varma (Game of Thrones,Obi-Wan Kenobi) has now joined the cast ofDune: The Sisterhoodin the role of Empress Natalya, “a formidable royal who united thousands of worlds in her marriage to Emperor Corrino.” Varma is the third actress confirmed for the show,along with Emily Watson(Gosford Park,Breaking the Waves) and Shirley Henderson(Star Wars: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, theHarry Potterseries), who play the Harkonnen Sisters. The series is based on the 2012 Dune novelSisterhood of Dune. Set 10,000 years before the events of the 2021Dunefilm, it will depict the origins of the Bene Gesserit, a secretive organization of women whose years of physical training result in supernatural mental abilities and which exerts a powerful grip on the politics of the empire.
Diane Ademu-John (The Haunting of Bly Manor,Empire) and Alison Schapker (Lost,Alias) will serve as showrunners for the series.ChernobylandBreaking Baddirector Johan Renck has been tapped to direct the first two episodes and serve as just one of the executive producers. The long list of executive producers includes Ademu-John, Schapker, Villeneuve,Dunefilm writer Jon Spaihts, Scott Z. Burns (The Report), Matt King (True Dating Stories), John Cameron (Severance,Fargo), Cait Collins (The Lobster,The Favourite), Byron Merritt and Kim Herbert from the Frank Herbert estate, and authors of theSisterhood of Dunesource novel Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.
It will be interesting to watch howDune: The Sisterhoodperforms. While Villeneuve’sDunefilm was a major success that grossed $400 million, a good portion of this success can be attributed to name recognition of Villeneuve and the critical praise for the movie. It remains to be seen how well a spin-off show that’s deep in the weeds ofDunelore will perform without these factors in their favor. But of course, given theincredible success of theDunenovelsand how few adaptations there have been up to now, there are likely scores of hungryDunefans who will eat up the show.
