Dune: The Sisterhood has added Vikings star Travis Fimmel to its cast. The casting is the latest in a series of announcements that started with the casting of the show’s two female leads in October.
Dune: The Sisterhood is set in the wider Dune universe, 10,000 years before the events of 2021’s Dune film, with both projects based on the work of science fiction author Frank Herbert, who wrote his original Dune novel in 1965. Dune managed to nab 10 Oscar nominations including Best Picture and paved the way for future projects for the franchise. Dune: The Sisterhood, which will focus on the Harkonnen sisters and the beginnings of their Bene Gesserit Order (which is the titular sisterhood) as they strive to save the world from an existential threat.
Deadline confirms that Fimmel will be taking on the role of the leading man opposite co-leading ladies Emily Watson and Shirley Henderson, who were added to the Dune: The Sisterhood cast in October as the Harkonnen sisters. More specifically, the report states that Fimmel will play Desmond Hart, a soldier with potent charisma and a past shrouded in mystery who seeks to curry favor with the Emperor at the expense of the titular Sisterhood. His position as the male lead likely means that he will be an integral part of the series’ plot, while the synopsis at this time seems to suggest that he won’t necessarily be the primary antagonist.
Dune: The Sisterhood started casting in August of 2022 after avoiding HBO Max content cuts. Fimmel, who starred prominently in the role of Ragnar Lothbrok on Vikings, will be joining a cast that already includes Faoileann Cunningham, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Aoife Hinds, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Chloe Lea, and more. Diane Ademu-John, who created the show and wrote the script, serves as showrunner and executive producer alongside Dune director Denis Villeneuve and others.
The string of capable casting choices, which most recently added Obi-Wan Kenobi and Game of Thrones star Indira Varma, as well as the involvement of Villeneuve and other component hands behind the scenes, almost guarantee that Dune: The Sisterhood will get the stewardship it needs to be a worthy addition to the Dune franchise, and could even help to elevate the upcoming sequel to the 2021 film beyond its already incredibly successful predecessor. It will also mark a return to HBO Max for Fimmel, who worked on the platform’s Raised by Wolves show for two seasons.
While fans of the original works and the 2021 adaptation will certainly be excited to get more Dune content, there might be some who balk at any potential changes that might be made, similar to the minority of those displeased with the film. Certain signs, such as Javier Bardem saying that Dune 2 would hold surprises even for book fans, seem to point to a larger shift in the adaptation’s approach to the source material than many will be comfortable with.
Dune: The Sisterhood does not yet have an official release date.
Source: Deadline