Emily Watson and Shirley Henderson to lead Dune prequel series
Emily Watson and Shirley Henderson have been cast as the leads for the Dune prequel series.
HBO Max has cast The Theory of Everything and Harry Potter stars as sisters Valya and Tula Harkonnen, respectively, in an upcoming Dune prequel series.
The series is set 10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides in Dune. Called Dune: The Sisterhood, the show will follow the Harkonnen sisters as they combat humanity-threatening forces and establish the Bene Gesserit sect.
In a statement, HBO Max described the characters as "the formidable Harkonnen Sisters, who have risen to power in the Sisterhood, a secret organization of women who will go on to become the Bene Gesserit".
Dune: The Sisterhood's story is adapted from the novel Sisterhood of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Herbert will executive produce the series, and Anderson will serve as co-producer.
Series creator Diane Ademu-John will also serve as writer, co-showrunner, and executive producer, while Dune movie director Denis Villeneuve will also executive produce.
The movie Dune, based on the novel by Brian's late father Frank Herbert, was released in 2021 and starred Timothée Chalamet as Atreides and Stellan Skarsgård as his family's enemy Baron Vladimir Harkonnen.
Villeneuve is currently directing the sequel, which is in production. It is due to be released in November 2023.
