Dune: The Sisterhood HBO Max Series Scores A Showrunner
When Denis Villeneuve agreed to direct a new adaptation of the notoriously hard to adapt Frank Hebert novel "Dune," there was more than just a single film on the horizon. It may be taking a little longer than originally planned to get the first "Dune" out the door, but with a new trailer out in the world and the October 22 release intact, it seems safe to acknowledge that there's also already a sequel film coming.
Not only that, but there's also a prequel TV series called "Dune: The Sisterhood" headed to HBO. There's just one question: Who is going to run that show? While Villeneuve is currently set to direct the pilot episode of the show, the original selected showrunner Jon Spaihts opted to step down from the project in order to focus on penning the Dune sequel film.
However, the big question remained: who would take over for Spaihts to weave the story of the Bene Gesserit — but we finally have our answer.
What showrunner is perfect for a Dune prequel series?
The Bene Gesserit's story is a massive one to tackle. The order, comprising mostly of women, dates back so far in "Dune" lore that their origins seem to reside on Earth. The Bene Gesserit carry a lot of power with ruling families like the Atreides and the Harkonnen. Their goal is to see to fruition the birth of the Kwisatz Haderach, a Messianic figure they believe will bring peace and deep philosophical insight to the world.
In other words, the Bene Gesserit have a complex tale to tell. Thankfully, according to Variety, HBO Max has brought on Diane Ademu-John to take over as showrunner for "Dune: The Sisterhood."
Most recently, Ademu-John acted as both executive producer and writer on the Netflix series "The Haunting of Bly Manor." If you've seen that loose adaptation of Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw," you know that it's a complex ghost story that plays fast and loose with the way it manipulates both its characters and timelines — meaning that Ademu-John already has experience handling complex storylines.
Arguably, the credits that really show off why Ademu-John is so well-suited to this project are the CW shows "The Vampire Diaries" and "The Originals." Those shows can sometimes be thought of as fluffy vampire dramas, but in reality, both shows (which are part of a shared universe) weave the stories of powerful clans/families of vampires over long periods of time. Dune also has its fair share of "Game of Thrones" political/family intrigue, so Ademu-John feels like a natural fit for showrunner on "Dune: The Sisterhood."