Jon Spaihts is stepping down as showrunner for HBO Max’s series ‘Dune: The Sisterhood’. This marks the first showrunner change for HBO Max. Allegedly, Legendary TV was not happy with the early work that Spaihts turned in. Spaihts wrote the script for the pilot and a revised outline for the series. He co-wrote the screenplay for the upcoming ‘Dune’ film with Denis Villeneuve, with Villeneuve directing. Now that he isn’t involved with ‘The Sisterhood’, Spaihts will focus on penning the sequel to the first movie. Frank Herbert’s original novel is so long that Villeneuve decided to split the story into two films. Villeneuve is also attached to direct the pilot for ‘The Sisterhood’. Spaihts is still attached as an executive producer, along with Villeneuve and Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt and Kim Herbert for the Frank Herbert estate.
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Back in June, Villeneuve stated:
“The Bene Gesserit have always been fascinating to me. Focusing a series around that powerful order of women seemed not only relevant and inspiring but a dynamic setting for the television series.”
Legendary hopes to turn ‘Dune’ into a multimedia franchise, with video games, digital content, and a comic book. There are 20 books in the ‘Dune’ series, and Legendary hopes to continue adapting them past the first two. Frank Herbert wrote the first six, with his son Brian and Kevin J. Anderson continuing them after his death. Anderson is also attached to ‘The Sisterhood’ as a co-producer.
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The first ‘Dune’ movie is due on December 18, 2020. It features an all-star cast including Javier Bardem as Stilgar, Dave Bautista as Glossu ‘Beast’ Rabban, Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck, David Dastmalchian as Piter De Vries, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Stephen McKinley Henderson as Thufir Hawat, Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides, Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho, Charlotte Rampling as Reverend Mother Mohiam, Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Harkonnen, and Zendaya as Chani.
HBO Max is expected to launch in May and will cost $15 a month.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
