While updates on HBO Max’s Dune: The Sisterhood have been few and far between since the project was first announced, Dune director Denis Villeneuve assures the spinoff series is still “moving forward.”
Villeneuve directed the 2021 film Dune, also known as Dune: Part One, which adapts the first half of author Frank Herbert’s seminal sci-fi novel. Villeneuve returns to the director’s chair for Dune: Part Two, which covers the second half of Herbert’s Dune and is currently scheduled to hit theaters on Oct. 20, 2023.
Regarding The Sisterhood, Villeneuve told Deadline that he is not overseeing the HBO Max series, as his focus currently lies with Part Two and the potential future of the Dune franchise. “We’ll see what happens,” he said. On that note, Villeneuve recently discussed the possibility of a third Dune film, which would be based on Dune Messiah, the second novel in Herbert’s original Dune saga. “If I survive Dune: Part Two, then I might do the Messiah,” he told Collider at the time.
Nevertheless, Villeneuve did conclude his thoughts with an optimistic message regarding The Sisterhood. “The TV series is a work in progress, it’s moving forward,” he explained.
The Sisterhood was first announced for WarnerMedia’s then-unnamed streaming service in mid-2019 as a Dune prequel series focusing on the Bene Gesserit. However, Jon Spaihts departed the series as showrunner by the end of the year. In mid-2021, Diane Ademu-John (The Haunting of Bly Manor) was reportedly tapped as Spaihts’ replacement.
In Frank Herbert’s Dune universe, the Bene Gesserit is a pseudo-religious, all-female organization with superhuman abilities and a great deal of influence. For countless generations, the Bene Gesserit has employed selective breeding techniques, with the ultimate goal of giving life to a male Bene Gesserit known as the Kwisatz Haderach.
The original plan was for the Kwisatz Haderach to be the grandson of Lady Jessica of the Atreides (played in Villeneuve’s Dune by Rebecca Ferguson). Jessica was to bear Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac) a daughter, who would be married off to a Harkonnen heir. Their son would be the Kwisatz Haderach, meaning that a Bene Gesserit-controlled male would have a claim to the Golden Lion Throne.
However, Jessica defies the Bene Gesserit and instead bears Leto a son, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet). Paul is ultimately revealed to be the Kwisatz Haderach. By being born a generation too early, Paul effectively put the Bene Gesserit on the back foot and upended their entire plan, as he was free of their influence.
While discussing The Sisterhood back in September 2021, Villeneuve declined to say whether or not Ferguson’s Lady Jessica would factor into the HBO Max spinoff. “It’s a beautiful project, but it’s in development,” he said. “And when things are in development, I have a tendency, I want to protect them because it’s in a fragile state.”
Source: Deadline
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