With production under way and the vast majority of casting announcements now behind us, we thought that the days of our James Dyer Dune-blabbing on the podcast might be behind us. How wrong we were: The film's director, Denis Villeneuve, has been developing a spin-off TV series for Warner Bros.' new streaming service WarnerMedia. Prepare yourselves, then, for talk of Dune: The Sisterhood.
The new Dune film is once again attempting the mammoth task of bringing Frank Herbert's book to the screen (with more to follow, no doubt, if it's a success), and while the story will focus on Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and his family, it will have a few members of the mysterious, powerful Bene Gesserit sisterhood involved (Paul's mother, the Lady Jessica, played by Rebecca Ferguson, is one of the sisterhood).
Given abilities by their mastery of the body and the mind, the Bene Gesserit expertly weave through the feudal politics and intrigue of The Imperium, pursuing plans of their own that will ultimately lead them to the enigmatic planet Arrakis – known to its inhabitants as Dune. "The Bene Gesserit have always been fascinating to me," Villeneuve said in a statement. "Focusing a series around that powerful order of women seemed not only relevant and inspiring but a dynamic setting for the television series."
Once the film is wrapped, he'll focus on the show alongside writer Jon Spaihts, who worked on the main screenplay. Villeneuve is on to direct the pilot and maintain the visual look from the big screen to the small, with Sisterhood forming part of the same universe. It's an unsurprising extension to a project that Warners and Legendary are betting big on, gearing up video games, comics and digital content.
Dune itself will be out on 20 November next year. The show, which is still in its infancy, has yet to announce any details about when it'll show up on WarnerMedia's service, itself not due until later this year.
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