Dune: The Sisterhood Loses Director and Lead Actress as HBO Max Spinoff Undergoes Major Change and Delay

HBO Max's Dune: The Sisterhood spinoff series is undergoing even more significant changes. On Tuesday, reports indicated that the live-action series has lost one of its stars, Tula Harkonnen actress Shirley Henderson, as well as the director of the first two episodes, Johan Renck. The series is now expected to undergo a hiatus amid these changes, with reports indicating that the delay could be up to seven months. These exits occurred after the exit of showrunner Diane Ademu-John, who left the series right before it began production in late November, which reportedly led to major rewrites. According to reports, Renck's directing style also did not line up with HBO Max's vision for the show, and was seen as a "departure" from the style of Denis Villeneuve's films.

"As Dune: The Sisterhood (wt) has entered a pre-scheduled hiatus, there are some creative changes being made to the production in an effort to create the best series possible and stay true to the source material," an HBO Max spokesperson said in a statement. "Johan Renck has completed his work on the series and a new director will be brought on; through mutual agreement, Johan is moving on to pursue other projects. Additionally, Shirley Henderson will be exiting the series and will no longer be playing Tula Harkonnen."

What is Dune: The Sisterhood about?

Dune: The Sisterhood has been previously described as being 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. Members of the cast will also include Emily Watson as Valya Harkonnen; Indira Varma as Empress Natalya; Sarah-Sofie Boussnina as Princess Ynez; Shalom Brune Franklin as Mikaela; Faoileann Cunningham as Sister Jen; Aoife Hinds as Sister Emeline; Chloe Lea as Lila; Travis Fimmel as Desmond Hart; Mark Strong as Emperor Javicco Corrino; Jade Anouka as Sister Theodosia; Chris Mason as Keiran Atreides.

"Oh, that is carrying on and I'm not allowed to talk about it very much," Spaihts previously said during an interview with The Playlist. "But that effort is alive and well. I ended up getting moved off of it to work, not just on Dune: Part Two, but to investigate other cinematic prospects in the Dune universe, which we are still talking about and which, again, I'm not allowed to say very much about. But it is a very rich world in which to play, and I think it is ripe with opportunities for storytelling in every direction. They're well down the road, but I honestly don't know the details of the timing."

What do you think of these new Dune: The Sisterhood filming updates? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

h/t: Deadline