HBO Max has officially announced Emily Watson and Shirley Henderson as the leads of Dune: the Sisterhood, a prequel to the 2021 film Dune. Borrowing inspiration from the same Frank Herbert that spawned the entire Dune franchise, the prequel series will give fans of Dune a closer look at some of the franchise’s deep lore.
First announced in 2019 under the working title Dune: the Sisterhood, the Dune prequel will take place 10,000 years before the events of the film and follows Valya (Emily Watson) and Tula Harkonnen, a pair of sisters that have climbed to power within the Sisterhood, a mystical organization of women that will one day become the Bene Gesserit, a secretive organization made up of spies, scientists, nuns, and theologians who are all trained to resist the Voice. Dune: the Sisterhood will show the Harkonnen sisters’ struggle against forces that threaten the future of humankind, according to Deadline, and lay the foundation for the Bene Gesserit.
Dana Calvo was signed as showrunner for the series not long after its initial announcement, along with co-showrunner Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve, the director and producer of Dune.
Emily Watson and Shirley Henderson Cast in ‘Dune: the Sisterhood’
Emily Watson is largely known for her work in television and across various TV mini-series, including Little Women (2017) and Chernobyl (2019). She also appeared as Chief of Staff Fox in Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), and most recently as Aileen O’Hara in God’s Creatures (2022).
Shirley Henderson has an equally respectable career history, as compared to her Sisterhood co-star; some of Henderson’s previous roles include Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter films and the voice of Babu Frik in Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker. Some of her more recent roles include Quackety Duck Duck on Lovely Little Farm (2022) and Siobhan in The Nest (2022).
Dune: the Sisterhood will be produced by Legendary Television, the TV arm of Legendary, the production company behind Dune. HBO Max will also produce the series, with Johan Renck, Villeneuve, Spaihts, Scott Z. Burns, Matthew King, John Cameron and Cait Collins, and author Brian Herbert. Byron Merritt and Kim Herbert will produce the series on behalf of Frank Herbert’s estate, and author Kevin Anderson serves as a co-produce the series.
A release date for Dune: the Sisterhood on HBO Max has not been announced yet, but more information on the Dune prequel will likely become available as the series gets closer to completion.