'Dune: The Sisterhood' HBO Max Series Finds A Showrunner In 'The Haunting Of Bly Manor' Vet
After some minor hiccups, the spice is flowing once more on HBO Max's Dune television prequel series. The series, titled Dune: The Sisterhood, has a new showrunner in Diane Ademu-John, best known for her work on Netflix's The Haunting of Bly Manor. Prometheus scribe Jon Spaihts had previously been attached to run the series, but he stepped down in November 2019 to focus on writing the script for the second Dune film.
Dune: The Sisterhood Finds its Leader
According to Variety, Ademu-John will work on Dune: The Sisterhood as writer, showrunner, and executive producer. Though Spaights stepped down as showrunner, he will still executive produce on the series.
Dune: The Sisterhood "explores the future through the eyes of a mysterious order of women: the Bene Gesserit. 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 series will serve as a prequel for the Dune film. The film was originally supposed to hit theaters last year, but its release was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. HBO Max ordered the spin-off show straight-to-series in June 2019. Dune movie director Denis Villeneuve is attached to direct the series pilot. Both the series and film are being produced by Legendary.
When Spaihts stepped down in 2019, reports suggested Legendary was not happy with his work on the series thus far. My best guess is that Legendary wanted to have a more authentic voice behind Dune: The Sisterhood, one that understood the experience of womanhood. By bringing on Ademu-John, the female-driven story might have more impact. She's also a talented writer, having penned episodes of Empire, The Originals, Body of Proof, and Medium.
It's a big day for Dune news, as the new trailer for the film also dropped. Dune comes to theaters and HBO Max October 22, 2021. There's currently no release date for Dune: The Sisterhood, but you can expect to see it sooner than later if Dune does as well for Warner Bros and Legendary as they hope. And if you really need your Dune fix now, you can always watch the 1984 David Lynch movie version, streaming now on HBO Max.