Sumith Prasad
The shooting of Max’s science-fiction series ‘Dune: The Sisterhood,’ a prequel to Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune,’ is set to begin in Summer 2023 in Budapest, the capital city of Hungary. The series is going into production after several changes brought to the creative department since its official announcement in 2019.
The prequel takes place approximately 10,000 years before the events of Frank Herbert’s novel ‘Dune,’ which serves as the source text of the film, following the origins of the Bene Gesserit, an exclusive sisterhood and political force. When humanity gets threatened, two Harkonnen sisters come in the way of the same and establish Bene Gesserit to save the world. The series is expected to draw inspiration from ‘Sisterhood of Dune,’ a novel written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.
The series is created by Diane Ademu-John, who also serves as a writer and executive producer. Her recent credits include ‘Extrapolations,’ ‘The Haunting of Bly Manor,’ ‘The Empire,’ ‘The Originals,’ ‘Medium,’ etc. Although Diane was initially expected to serve as the co-showrunner of the show, she eventually stepped down for Alison Schapker to become the sole showrunner of the series. Even though Villeneuve was initially slated to direct the pilot, he was eventually replaced by Johan Renck since the former was engaged with the production of ‘Dune: Part Two.’ Soon, Renck was replaced by Anna Foerster to direct multiple episodes of the series, including the pilot.
The cast of the series includes Emily Watson, who plays Valya Harkonnen. Watson’s recent credits include ‘Fired on Mars,’ ‘God’s Creatures,’ ‘Too Close,’ ‘The Third Day,’ ‘Chernobyl,’ etc. Even though Shirley Henderson was initially cast to play Tula Harkonnen, she was replaced by ‘The Crown’ fame Olivia Williams. Williams’ other credits include ‘The Father,’ ‘Maps to the Stars,’ ‘Anna Karenina,’ etc. Jodhi May plays Empress Natalya, replacing Indira Varma, who stepped down due to a scheduling conflict. May plays Queen Calanthe in ‘The Witcher,’ Vere Hobart in ‘Gentleman Jack,’ Susan Gilbert in ‘A Quiet Passion,’ etc.
Other cast members include Sarah-Sofie Boussnina (Princess Ynez), Shalom Brune-Franklin (Mikaela), Faoileann Cunningham (Sister Jen), Aoife Hinds (Sister Emeline), Chloe Lea (Lila), Travis Fimmel (Desmond Hart), Mark Strong (Emperor Javicco Corrino), etc. Jade Anouka, Chris Mason, Josh Heuston, and Edward Davis are also part of the cast. In addition to Diane, Schapker, and Villeneuve, the executive producers of the series include Jon Spaihts, Scott Z. Burns, Matthew King, John Cameron, Cait Collins, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, Kim Herbert, and Dana Calvo.
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