Dune: The Sisterhood Prequel Rounds Out Cast With Five More Stars
Following the smash success of last year's Dune movie, Warner Bros. Discovery is going all-in on Frank Herbert's iconic sci-fi franchise. This will include Dune: The Sisterhood, a live-action series that is set to debut on the HBO Max streaming service, and will be based on Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's spinoff novel Sisterhood of Dune. With production on Dune: The Sisterhood set to begin next month in Budapest, Hungary, the series' cast is beginning to take shape — including a number of new additions. On Friday, it was announced that Sarah-Sofie Boussnina (The Colony, Knightfall), Shalom Brune-Franklin (The Tourist, Line of Duty), Faoileann Cunningham (The Northman, The Witcher: Blood Origin), Aoife Hinds (Normal People, Derry Girls) and Chloe Lea (Foundation, Great Expectations) have all been cast in the series.
Boussina will play Princess Ynez, described as an independent young princess dealing with the pressures of her responsibility as heir to the Golden Lion Throne. Brune-Franklin will play Mikaela, a strong-willed Fremen woman who serves the royal family while longing for a home planet she's never known. Cunningham will play Sister Jen, a fierce, unpredictable acolyte in training at the Sisterhood School who rarely reveals her emotional core. Hinds will play Sister Emeline, a zealous acolyte descended from a long line of martyrs, who carries fervent religion to her training at the Sisterhood. Lea will play Lila, described as the youngest acolyte at the Sisterhood School with a deep empathy beyond her years.
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. It will serve as a prequel to the films.
Dune: the Sisterhood will also star Emily Watson (Chernobyl, Hilary and Jackie), Shirley Henderson (Harry Potter, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day), and Indira Varma (Game of Thrones, Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi). Diane Ademu-John serves as creator, writer, co-showrunner and executive producer. Alison Schapker is co-showrunner and executive producer. Emmy-winner Johan Renck will direct the first two episodes and executive-produce. The series will be written by returning franchise writer Jon Spaihts, with Diane Ademu-John as showrunner, and Johan Renck as the director of the first two episodes.
"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."
Are you excited for Dune: The Sisterhood? What do you think of its new cast members? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
h/t: Variety