Tabu to star as ‘strong, intelligent, alluring’ Sister Francesca in Dune: Prophecy series, a prequel to Denis Villeneuve’s blockbuster films

Also read – With Crew, Tabu proves no one does funny like her; but what makes her such a hit with comedies?

Tabu will join Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, Jodhi May and others on the show, whose logline reads, “Set within the expansive universe of Dune, created by acclaimed author Frank Herbert, and 10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides, Dune: Prophecy follows two Harkonnen sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind, and establish the fabled sect that will become known as the Bene Gesserit.”

The show was initially set up with Dana Calvo and Jon Spaihts. Spaihts was replaced by Diane Ademu-John a couple of years later. Chernobyl’s Johan Renck was hired to direct the first two episodes, and filming began shortly afterwards. Both Renck and Ademu-John departed the series following creative differences, and Alison Schapker was brought on board as the sole showrunner, with Anna Foerster set to direct multiple episodes.

Explaining the behind-the-scenes drama in an interview with The Playlist, and said, “There was a lot of stuff that was going on, but no one can be held responsible, or showrunners that got exchanged, and the original idea of the story completely changed course also because it used to be called, Dune: Sisterhood, and then it changed names and became a completely different thing. Again, that’s something that can happen in episodic TV, and it’s just like, either you are okay being in and functioning in that environment of that kind, but it never has been or will it be something for me.”

Tabu was last seen in the film Crew, and before that, in Khufiya. Her international projects include the Oscar-winning Life of Pi, The Namesake, and Mira Nair’s A Suitable Boy.