Dune’s spinoff series Dune: The Sisterhood has been in development since the original Denis Villeneuve movie was in production. After several actors and one of its directors of its pilot departed the project earlier this year as part of a creative overhaul, the series is said to be starting up production again fairly soon, albeit with the shadow of the actors strike looming over it.
Per Deadline, production on The Sisterhood is said to start up in Budapest “any day now,” picking up from the original November 2022 start date. Like with HBO’s House of the Dragon, the Dune series has a largely British cast and is therefore working under that region’s Equity contracts. Not long after the strike’s start, SAG-AFTRA said that its members under said contracts may “continue to report to work.” And as Deadline noted for Dragon, actors who chose to strike in solidarity with their US members may be open to legal action from studios. Anti-strike laws in the UK could be sued by Warner Bros. or Legendary Television to be forced back on set.
WB and Legendary’s Dune franchise has had an odd series of setbacks over the last few years. The first movie was pushed from its original 2020 date to 2021 due to the pandemic. Part Two’s production didn’t have any delays, but next weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con was said to have the film at Legendary Pictures’ panel alongside Godzilla v. Kong: The New Empire. The panel’s since been cancelled due to the strike, and the entire marketing plan for that film is now out of whack because studios didn’t reach a deal with actors.
Dune: Part Two will release on November 2, while Dune: The Sisterhood currently lacks a Max premiere date.