Emily Watson and Shirly Henderson will star in the upcoming series Dune: The Sisterhood, a spin-off to the 2021 film. In a report from Deadline, Watson and Henderson will portray Valya Harkonnen and Tula Harkonnen, respectively, as the formidable Harkonnen Sisters. The series will see the two siblings rising to power in the Sisterhood, a secret female organization later known as the Bene Gesserit. No information was released on whether the Henderson sisters will act as the show’s protagonists.
The Sisterhood will be based on the novel, Sisterhood of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, and will be set 10,000 years before the events of Dune.
The series was first announced in 2019 and will stream exclusively on HBO Max. Diane Ademu-John, who served as an executive producer for The Haunting of Bly Manor, will act as a creator, writer, co-showrunner, and executive producer for the series. Alison Schapker will serve as co-showrunner and executive producer. Meanwhile, the director of the 2021 adaptation of Dune, Denis Villeneuve, will act as executive producer.
Dune was met with critical acclaim, with praise given to its visuals, performances, and faithfulness to its source material. It received six awards at the Oscars, including Best Sound, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing, Best Production Design, Best Visual Effects, and Best Cinematography. A sequel, Dune: Part 2, will release in 2023 and cover the book’s second half.
The Dune IP has also been making waves in the video game industry, with an MMO in the works, as well as a grand strategy game currently in early access.
