5 July 2023, 12:02 by Karzal

New director and recasts for Max series Dune: The Sisterhood

Olivia Williams (The Crown) and Jodhi May (The Witcher) have joined the cast of the Max Original series Dune: The Sisterhood (working title).

Williams will take over the role of Tula Harkonnen following Shirley Henderson's departure in February. May is being re-cast for the role of Natalya as Indira Varma pulls out due to a scheduling conflict, sources said.

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Williams (pictured) played Camilla Parker Bowles in the fifth season of Netflix hit The Crown, a role she will also reprise in its sixth and final season. In addition, she had regular roles in HBO science fiction drama The Nevers, Starz science fiction thriller series Counterpart, WGN America drama series Manhattan and FOX science fiction series Dollhouse, among others.

May (pictured below) appeared as Queen Calanthe in Netflix's fantasy series The Witcher. The British actress also had guest roles in, among others, the first season of National Geographic's Genius and Gentleman Jack from BBC and HBO.

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In addition, Anna Foerster (Outlander, Westworld) will direct several episodes, including the premiere. Foerster will take over duties following the departure of Johan Renck, which Deadline exclusively announced earlier this year.

Set in the mystical world of Dune, created by Frank Herbert, and set 10,000 years before the rise of Paul Atreides, Dune: The Sisterhood (working title) follows the Harkonnen Sisters as they battle against forces that threaten the future of humanity and targets the legendary sect known as the Bene Gesserit. The series is based on the novel Sisterhood of Dune written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.

Diane Ademu-John is the creator, writer and executive producer. Alison Schapker is showrunner and executive producer. Other executive producers include Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts, Scott Z. Burns, Matthew King, John Cameron, Mark Tobey and Jordan Goldberg, as well as Brian Herbert and starring Byron Merritt and Kim Herbert on behalf of Frank Herbert's estate. Kevin J. Anderson is co-producer.

The series is co-produced by Max and Legendary Television, with Legendary also producing the film franchise that released the first installment in October 2021 to critical acclaim.

Comments (6)

JanWillemK • 5 July 2023, 16:19

Olivia Williams, excellent. Great actress.. but Indira Varma who will no longer participate.. a shame!

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BlackBiker • 5 July 2023, 16:23

I had the exact same thing. Fine actress Indira Varma. Rome, Game of Thrones, Luther, all good roles. And such a late recasting and change of director is usually not a good sign. Creative disagreement?

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JanWillemK • 5 July 2023, 17:27

"We hear conflicting views on the current hiatus. While sources close to the production insist there had always been a plan to stop filming for the winter months, others indicate that production has been pushed by seven months to give Schapker and her team time to put their creative stamp by reworking the scripts as well as to find a new director.

It is unclear whether Henderson’s departure is related to the creative changes, Renck’s exit or the new start of production but we hear the delay is wreaking havoc on actors’ schedules, creating potential conflicts that may lead to more exits and recastings."

Dit alles was al in februari naar voren gekomen. Dit zal dan waarschijnlijk ook gelijk de reden zijn waarom Indira Varma is vertrokken.
Of dit positief of negatief zal zijn is nog afwachten.. maar ja, meestal geen goed teken.

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BlackBiker • 6 July 2023, 22:11

Doesn't sound good if I'm honest. By the way, this series is not based on a book by Frank Herbert, but by his son Brian Herbert, who expanded the Dune universe considerably after the death of his father. I have read a number of his books, but they are significantly less well-researched than Frank's books. That said, I'm willing to give it a chance, but I don't have much confidence in it, also because of these vicissitudes. And the biggest plus for me was Indira Varma and she has now also lost weight.

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hansx • 10 July 2023, 23:21

Of course this will get a chance. The film was by far one of the best attempts to adapt the story. Very fascinating. Any attempt to summarize the sequels or prequals in a series is therefore more than welcome.

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BlackBiker • 12 July 2023, 12:40

The film is fantastic and I am also eagerly looking forward to part 2. But... the film was made by a fantastic director (Denis Villeneuve) and based on the story of Herbert Sr. Two things that I think give this a big lead over this series. But you're right, of course we just have to watch it and then draw our conclusion :-)

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