HBO's 'Dune: Sisterhood' Removes Showrunner

Ashton Hughes November 7th, 2019 - 11:13 PM

HBO Max’s upcoming Dune spin-off series, Dune: Sisterhood, has removed Jon Spaihts as show runner so that the director can have more time to focus on the forthcoming film sequel, which is slated for a December 2020 release. Dune: Sisterhood was given a straight-to-series from the outset and has since been fast-tracked by the WarnerMedia-backed streaming service leading to a packed production schedule.

With Spaihts being torn between the two projects, HBO Max made the decision to find a replacement quickly despite Spaihts remaining on board as the series’ executive producer alongside Denis Villeneuve, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt and Kim Herbert for the Frank Herbert estate. Kevin J. Anderson will also co-produce the upcoming series’ adaptation.

After being picked up in June, Spaihts has been working on the draft script for Dune: Sisterhood for some time revising an outline for the more female-focused take on Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic for the past few months alongside the film sequel. Sources close to the series’ production, reportedly mentioned that Legendary TV “was not happy with the early work Spaihts submitted and opted to remove him as showrunner on the production so he can instead focus on the yet-to-be-formally-announced film sequel to the forthcoming Dune feature.”

Spaihts is also currently in the process of co-writing the feature film reboot of Dune’s screenplay alongside Denis Villeneuve, who is also set to produce and direct— Villeneuve is also currently attached to direct the pilot for Dune: The Sisterhood as well. The newly penned Dune feature will star: Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgard, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Jason Momoa, Zendaya and Oscar Isaac.

Dune: The Sisterhood takes place in a universe where humanity has colonized several worlds and will explore the Herbert’s world through the eyes of a mysterious order of women: the Bene Gesserit. “Given 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.”

HBO’s upcoming television series and feature film are apart of the early beginnings of Legendary’s larger plan for the Dune series, which will also include: video games, digital content packages and comic book series. Legendary CEO Joshua Grode commented that the company planned to split Dune into two seperate films despite only the first one being scheduled.

To date, there have been more than 20 books in the Dune series, with the first six being written by Herbert while his son, Brian, and Kevin J. Anderson, continue the series posthumously.

HBO’s ‘Dune: Sisterhood’ Removes Showrunner