‘Dune’ TV Series Loses Showrunner Jon Spaihts
TheDuneTV series destined for HBO Max,Dune: The Sisterhood, is going to need a new showrunner.Jon Spaihts, who wrote the script for the upcomingDunemovie from directorDenis Villeneuve, was set to serve as showrunner for the tie-in TV series, but that’s no longer the case. Sources claim that Legendary TV was unsatisfied with the work Spaiths was doing on the show, but that doesn’t mean the writer’s time in the world ofDuneis done – he’s still slated to pen theDunesequel.
Warner Bros. and Legendary are all-in onDune, hoping that Denis Villeneuve’s big-budget, star-studded adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi classic will spawn it’s own little entertainment universe. Not only are they carving out plans for a sequel to Villeneuve’s film, they’re also creating a spin-off TV series calledDune: The Sisterhood. But things apparently aren’t going so smoothly behind-the-scenes.
According toTHR,Dune: The Sisterhoodshowrunner Jon Spaihts is out. The reason: “Legendary TV was not happy with the early work Spaihts turned in 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 will still serve as executive producer on the series, and the fact that he’s still set to write the movie screenplay implies that he has a future in the world ofDune. But that makes his removal from the TV series all the more puzzling.
Dune: The Sisterhood"explores the future 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."
Villeneuve is set to direct the pilot episode, and he co-wrote theDunemovie screenplay with Spaihts. The film is bound to generate a lot of buzz for its impressive cast alone:Timothée Chalamet,Rebecca Ferguson,Oscar Isaac,Josh Brolin,Stellan Skarsgård,Dave Bautista,Zendaya,David Dastmalchian,Stephen Henderson,Charlotte Rampling,Jason Momoa, andJavier Bardem. But whether or not that buzz carries over and gets people excited for a sequel and a TV series remains to be seen.
TheDunemovie will arriveNovember 20, 2020. No premiere date has been set yet forDune: The Sisterhood.
