Jon Spaihts steps down from Dune TV series to focus on the Dune sequel

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Frank Herbert's "Dune" has typically proven to be notoriously difficult to adapt, but Denis Villeneuve will be giving it a shot with his star-studded feature-film, and Legendary Pictures/Warner Bros. seem to have big plans for the franchise as they're also developing a spin-off TV series for HBO Max to go with it.

Dune: The Sisterhood 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." Jon Spaihts, who co-wrote DUNE alongside Eric Roth and Denis Villeneuve, was slated to serve as showrunner for Dune: The Sisterhood, but THR has now reported that he's stepping down. Spaihts had turned in one draft of a script as well as a revised outline for the series, but THR's sources say that Legendary TV were apparently not happy with the work and elected to remove him as showrunner, although he will be staying on as an executive producer. The search for a new showrunner is currently underway, but Spaihts won't be leaving the world of DUNE entirely as he will now focus on the sequel to Villeneuve's feature-film, a project which Legendary hasn't yet greenlight.

Denis Villeneuve has long said that his goal is to make DUNE into two films, so I can only hope that the first is successful enough that he'll get his chance. Either way, the feature film won't be Villeneuve's only time behind the camera of a DUNE project as he's also slated to helm the pilot episode of Dune: The Sisterhood. "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."

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 (THE KING) will star as Paul Atreides, with Oscar Isaac (STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER) playing Duke Leto Atreides, Paul's father, Rebecca Ferguson (DOCTOR SLEEP) 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 (ANT-MAN AND THE WASP) as Piter De Vries, a twisted Mentat. DUNE is slated for a December 18, 2020 release.