Dune: The Sisterhood, the HBO Max series in the works about the origin of the Bene Gesserit, is having some shakeups behind the scenes, with several key creatives leaving the production.
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Deadline broke the news that director Johan Renck (Chernobyl), who was supposed to helm the first two episodes of the season, has left. According to Deadline’s sources, Renck’s style “did not jibe with the streamer’s vision for the series.” The production, which started in November, is now on hold, though HBO Max says the hiatus was always planned during the winter months.
“As Dune: The Sisterhood (wt) has entered a pre-scheduled hiatus, there are some creative changes being made to the production in an effort to create the best series possible and stay true to the source material,” an HBO Max spokesperson said in a statement to Deadline. “Johan Renck has completed his work on the series and a new director will be brought on; through mutual agreement, Johan is moving on to pursue other projects. Additionally, Shirley Henderson will be exiting the series and will no longer be playing Tula Harkonnen.”
We found out about Henderson’s casting in one of the lead roles in October, and we have no news on why the actor, who is arguably best known for playing Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter films, is leaving the production. These two exits are expounded by co-showrunner Diane Ademu-John stepping down as well in November, with Alison Schapker showrunning the project solo at the last minute, something that Deadline’s sources say resulting in a lot of pressure on the production and massive rewrites made “on the fly.”
With these departures, it’s unclear whether any of the footage shot in Budapest to date under Renck will ever see the light of day or when we’ll finally be able to see the final production on HBO Max.
