The upcoming HBO Max seriesDune: The Sisterhoodhas found its leads in the form of actresses Shirley Henderson and Emily Watson, who will portray siblings on the HBO Max and Legendary Television-produced project.
Set in theDuneuniverse based on the works of science fiction author Frank Herbert,Dune: The Sisterhoodtakes place some 10,000 years before the events of the well-received 2021Dunefilm adaptation of the same literary material, which chronicled the trials of the noble House Atreides as it is thrust into war andbagged a whole slew of Oscar nominations.Dune: The Sisterhoodwill follow the Harkonnen sisters on a quest to save humanity from existential threats and eventually leads to the formation of the titular sisterhood, more formally known as the Bene Gesserit Order.
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Deadlinehas now confirmed that Henderson and Watson will be portraying the Harkonnen sisters in the upcoming prequel to thecritically acclaimedDunefilm, playing the roles of Tula and Valya Harkonnen, respectively. This makes the two talented ladies co-leads on the upcoming project, which was created and written by the multitalented Diane Ademu-John, who will also take on the roles of showrunner and executive producer alongside Alison Schapker. The two stars are no stranger to big projects, with Henderson having made appearances for projects in theHarry PotterandStar Warsfranchises, and Watson has a long and lauded career in theatre projects, with some notable film appearances in the likes ofKingsman: The Golden Circle.
After surviving themyriad content cuts that took place at HBO Max,Dune: The Sisterhoodis also set to be executive produced by a wide range of capable hands, includingDuneco-writer, director and producer Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts, Scott Z. Burns, Matthew King, John Cameron and Cait Collins. Authors Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson will serve as executive and co-producer, respectively, to ensure that the grand literary narrative style of the source material translates well to the medium. Byron Merritt and Kim Herbert will be representing the original author’s estate in executive roles to much the same effect as well.
The success of 2021’sDunehas spurned Legendary Television and HBO Max on to create new and greater things, and deservedly so. TheDuneproperty has tried and stumbled in the past to be adapted successfully to film, with cancelations and commercial failures souring all involved in the process of adapting it. This led to the director of the original 1984 film adaptation, David Lynch, declaring that he hadno interest in the newDunefilmand allowed Villeneuve to bring his own original spin to it unhindered by past works, which was likely for the best. Now, new and exciting projects likeDune: The Sisterhoodcan use Villeneuve’s work as a launching point to give fans exactly the sort of expansive and wondrous science fiction storytelling that is so widely sought after.
While many fans are excited at the prospect ofmore stories set in theDuneuniverse, some are less enthusiastic about where the upcoming series fits in with the success of the firstDunefilm in light of a direct sequel to the film being in the works and having already started production and released set photos in June of 2022. It remains to be seen if the Harkonnen sisters will be able to capture the viewing audience in the same way that theDunefilm did.
