Although Denis Villeneuve is currently in the midst of directing his big-screen adaptation of DUNE, it seems that he'll be remaining in the expansive universe created by Frank Herbert for a little while longer. It was announced today that WarnerMedia has given a straight-to-series order to a new TV series set in the DUNE franchise. Legendary Entertainment must be pretty damn pleased with what they've seen of Villenneuve's film so far.
Titled Dune: The Sisterhood, the upcoming series will explore the world of DUNE 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." The TV series is designed to co-exist with the upcoming film, and to that end, the pilot episode will be helmed by Denis Villeneuve with Jon Spaihts, one of the writers of the film, also set to pen the script. "The Bene Gesserit have always been fascinating to me," said Villeneuve in a statement. "Focusing a series around that powerful order of women seemed not only relevant and inspiring but a dynamic setting for the television series." I'm down.
As a huge Denis Villeneuve fan, DUNE is one of my most anticipated projects of 2020, and the film boasts quite the all-star cast. Timothée Chalamet's (CALL ME BY YOUR NAME) will star as Paul Atreides, with Oscar Isaac (STAR WARS: EPISODE IX) playing Duke Leto Atreides, Paul's father, Rebecca Ferguson (MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT) as Paul's mother, Lady Jessica, Stellan Skarsgard (THOR) as the villainous Baron Harkonnen, Dave Bautista (BLADE RUNNER 2049) as his sadistic nephew, Glossu "Beast" Rabban, Charlotte Rampling (RED SPARROW) as the Reverend Mother Mohiam, the emperor's truthsayer, Josh Brolin (AVENGERS: ENDGAME) as Gurney Halleck, a troubadour-swordsman, Javier Bardem (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES) as Stilgar, the leader of the Fremen, and Zendaya (SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME) as Chani, a Fremen who becomes a love interest to Paul Atreides, Jason Momoa (AQUAMAN) as Duncan Idaho, a swordmaster in the house of Atreides, and David Dastmalchian as Piter De Vries, a twisted Mentat. DUNE is slated for a November 20, 2020 release.