Warner Bros. and Legendary’s Dune universe is losing one of its main creative voices. For more than a year, Diane Ademu-John has been hard at work on HBO Max’s Dune: The Sisterhood as creator and co-showrunner alongside Alison Schapker. But Deadline is now reporting that Ademu-John is stepping down from this role, opting instead to serve as an executive producer on the upcoming prequel series. In her place, Schapker will act as the sole showrunner moving forward.
News of Ademu-John’s departure comes at a bizarre time. Yesterday, pilot director and executive producer Johan Renck announced on Instagram that the series had just started production in Hungary. The spinoff has notably been in the works since mid-2019, well over two years before Dune finally hit theaters last fall. But it wasn’t until last month that casting announcements finally began to surface. The story takes place 10,000 years before Denis Villeneuve’s original sci-fi epic. Emily Watson and Shirley Henderson will lead the series as Valya and Tula Harkonnen, the architects of what will eventually become known as the Bene Gesserit.
This isn’t The Sisterhood’s first major shakeup behind the scenes. When the series was first announced, Dune co-writer Jon Spaihts was expected to be the primary showrunner. However, he eventually left the project to focus on crafting the script for Dune: Part Two with Villeneuve. Similarly, Villeneuve was going to direct the series’ pilot himself before the sequel began demanding more of his attention.
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Renck, Spaihts, and Villeneuve will also serve as executive producers on the show with Scott Z. Burns, Matthew King, John Cameron and Cait Collins, and Brian Herbert. Byron Merritt and Kim Herbert are executive producing on behalf of author Frank Herbert’s estate. Kevin J. Anderson is also on board as a co-producer. Additional cast members include Travis Fimmel, Indira Varma, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Faoileann Cunningham, Aoife Hinds, and Chloe Lea.
HBO Max still hasn’t announced a premiere date for Dune: The Sisterhood. But since filming is currently underway, a late 2023 release is possible.
How do you feel about Ademu-John leaving the series? Tell us what you think in the comment section below!
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