Dune Director Teases Part Two And HBO Max Prequel Series The Sisterhood

The world of Dune is so big and grand that director Denis Villeneuve decided to split the first book into two parts in order to tell the story the fans deserve.

That’s not all, as Legendary has a larger vision for the franchise. Dune: The Sisterhood, the prequel series to the film, is in development at HBO Max. The show got a straight-to-series order at HBO Max in June 2019.

In July, it was reported that Diane Ademu-John had joined the series as writer, showrunner, and executive producer. Villeneuve will direct the series pilot and executive produce with Jon Spaihts, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, and Kim Herbert.

Now, in a conversation with Variety at TIFF, Villeneuve talked about bringing the book to life in two parts and teased the series,

I wanted at the beginning to do the two parts simultaneously. For several reasons, it didn’t happen, and I agreed to the challenge of making part one and then wait to see if the movie rings enough enthusiasm. As I was doing the first part, I really put all my passion into it, in case it would be the only one. But I’m optimistic.

Denis Villeneuve

Villeneuve was careful not to give away any details about the prequel series,

It’s a beautiful project, but it’s in development. And when things are in development, I have a tendency, I want to protect them because it’s in a fragile state.

Denis Villeneuve

Set in Frank Herbert’s Dune universe, Dune: The Sisterhood is told through the eyes of a mysterious order of women known as the Bene Gesserit.

Given extraordinary 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.

Religion is the emulation of the adult by the child. Religion is the encystment of past beliefs: mythology, which is guesswork, the hidden assumptions of trust in the universe, those pronouncements which men have made in search of personal power, all of it mingled with shreds of enlightenment. And always the ultimate unspoken commandment is ‘Thou shall not question!’ But we question. We break that commandment as a matter of course. The work to which we have set ourselves is the liberating of the imagination, the harnessing of imagination to humankind’s deepest sense of creativity.

Besides the series and a possible Dune: Part Two, the studio also wants to make video games, digital content packages, and comic book series.

After various pandemic-related delays, Dune will now arrive in theaters and on HBO Max on October 22. 2021.

About Dune

Dune (also known as Dune: Part One) is an American sci-fi film based on Frank Herbert’s novel of the same name, directed by Denis Villeneuve.

Part One introduced the planet of Dune/Arrakis, the only place where the enhancer drug “Melange” is found and sought out by many. The Atreides House is sent to the planet as the ruling Duke, as part of their adversaries’ trap. However, the Atreides are aware of the same and aim to defend Dune and their house.

The ensemble cast is made up of Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem.