Dune: The Sisterhood series will add to the world of Frank Herbert’s books. It is already being made into a series for HBO Max, and rumors say it will focus on the mysterious and powerful Bene Gesserit from the books.
Denis Villeneuve has already broken the Dune curse with a huge, impressive movie with perfect and mysterious cinematography that pulls you into the dreams of Paul Atreides and takes you to faraway planets. He also said that he has plans for at least a second part where you can see more of Chani (Zendaya), who only appears for 7 minutes in this first part.
But the world of Dune is big and full of characters with their own complicated stories, so in addition to the films about Paul Atreides’ (Timothée Chalamet) mission, Herbert’s story will also be available to stream so we can learn more about the mysterious matriarchal order of women with superpowers.
What will happen in Dune: The Sisterhood tv series?
According to Nerdist, the series takes place 10,000 years before Paul Atreides becomes king. It follows the Harkonnen Sisters as they fight the forces that threaten the future of humanity and create the legendary sect known as the Bene Gesserit.
The series was ordered in 2019, and it will be a sort of prequel to the Denis Villeneuve movie about the Bene Gesserit. In the books, the Bene Gesserit are a group of nuns, spies, scientists, and theologians who have superhuman abilities like mind control, hyperawareness, and collective memory.
Paul Atreides’s mother, Lady Jessica, is a Bene Gesserit. She teaches Paul how to use a special voice that makes people do what they are told.
The Bene Gesserit are The Sisterhood. In Herbert’s story, they use their special abilities to help humanity and lead it toward the future they have planned. As part of this, they are often advisors, wives, or concubines to the leaders of the Great Houses and try to make alliances that help them reach their goals, which are not clear.
In the book Children of Dune, Herbert writes about the Bene Gesserit creed:
“Religion is when a child tries to be like an adult. Religion is a collection of beliefs from the past, such as mythology, which is based on guesswork, the hidden assumptions of trust in the universe, and the proclamations that men have made to gain power, all mixed with bits of wisdom. And the last commandment that is never said is “Thou shalt not question!” But we question. As a matter of course, we break that rule. The goal of the work we’ve set out to do is to set the imagination free and use it to bring out humanity’s most creative side.”
We know that Denis Villeneuve will direct the pilot of the series and that Jon Spaihts, who helped write the Dune script, will write the story, so we can assume that the series won’t be too different from the movie. Villeneuve said, “I’ve always been interested in the Bene Gesserit. Having a show about this strong group of women seemed not only interesting and motivating, but also like a great setting for a dynamic show.”
The Hollywood Reporter said, “Herbert’s novel Dune looks at a future in which humanity has spread across the galaxy to thousands of worlds, all of which are ruled by the Padishah Emperor, The Empire. The Sisterhood takes place in the same universe as Dune. It looks at the future through the eyes of the Bene Gesserit, a mysterious group of women. The Bene Gesserit are able to move easily through feudal politics and Imperial intrigue because they know how to control their bodies and minds. They follow their own plans, which lead them to the mysterious planet Arrakis, which the people there call “Dune.”
Dune: The Sisterhood Cast
It’s possible that, at some point (maybe not in the first season), the show will show us more about Lady Jessica and how she got to the Atreides house. Villeneuve wouldn’t say anything, but the actress who plays her in the movie, Rebecca Ferguson, said she was free to film and would like to be a part of the project. If that’s the case, Charlotte Rampling could play Mother Superior Mohiam again. In the books, Mother Superior Mohiam tests Paul to see if she could be the person who was predicted about her.
The show is about the Harkonnen sisters, who are played by Emily Watson (Red Dragon) and Shirley Henderson (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker). They fight an evil force in the universe and eventually start the all-female order of the Bene Gesserit, which is mostly made up of women from powerful families. The sisters are named after Valya Harkonnen and Tula Harkonnen.
Variety says that Mark Strong, Jade Anouka, Chris Mason, Travis Fimmel, Indira Varma, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Faoileann Cunningham, Aoife Hinds, and Chloe Lea also star in The Sisterhood.
Strong plays Emperor Javicco Corrino, who is in charge of the empire. Anouka plays a Sisterhood member with a dark secret. Chris Mason plays Keiran Atreides, a skilled warrior with ties to the royal family. Varma plays Natalya, the emperor’s wife, whose marriage helped bring the empire together.
Josh Heuston and Edward Davis also joined the project. Heuston plays Constantine, the emperor’s son who wasn’t born to him, and Davis is Harrow Harkonnen, a politician who wants to bring glory to his family.
