Dune: Prophecy star Olivia Williams says she was initially suspicious of a “feminist” spin-off project because the book was written by “a bloke in the ’60s”.
READ MORE: ‘Dune: Prophecy’ review: thrilling prequel with plenty of spice
The Dune prequel series is set 10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides in the recent Denis Villeneuve films, and is based on the novel Sisterhood Of Dune, written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. It follows a gathering of Harkonnen women as they plot to establish a new covenant known as the Bene Gesserit.
Williams stars in the show alongside Emily Watson. The pair are part of the covenant where the women have supernatural powers.
At first, Williams revealed that she had reservations about joining the Dune universe.
She told The Guardian: “I had my suspicions about feminist TV based on a novel written by a bloke in the ’60s. And there are some elements that are very based in the patriarchy.
“There’s this fascination of, what do women get up to when men aren’t around, and what kind of wisdom is it that men are frightened of? They seem frightened we can read their minds, or know when they’re telling the truth or lying,” she explained.
She also opened up about the positives of creating a show with two women in their 50s front and centre at a time when Hollywood is still facing much ageism in the industry.
“All the progress of that question is really important,” Williams told the outlet. “It’s not cured, it’s not better, like so many things, it’s just different. The bollocks is just coming at you from a different direction.”
She continued: “But it is an achievement to put a show out there and see if everybody is interested in a story led by two middle-aged women, neither of whom are trading on the fact that they look 25. I mean, we are noticeable and possibly unique, Emily and I, in that neither of us has had any work done.”
In a four star review of the new show, NME wrote: “It’s nice to see a show about magic actually solve problems with magic, while the fear felt by students at The Sisterhood as things start to dissolve into chaos should hopefully inspire the upcoming Harry Potter remake. The glimpse of the Great Machine War also tees up a prequel to the prequel if things go well and you don’t need to be Bene Gesserit to see more Dunespin-offs in HBO’s future.”
Dune: Prophecy is available to watch from November 18 via Sky Atlantic and NOW. The season will consist of six episodes that will be released every Sunday on a weekly basis.
In other Dune-related news, Villeneuve confirmed in September that a third film, Dune: Messiah, will be his last for the franchise: “Listen, if Dune: Messiah happens, it will have been many years for me on Arrakis, and I would love to do something else. I think that it would be a good idea for me to make sure that, in Messiah, there are the seeds in the project if someone wants to do something else afterwards, because they are beautiful books.
“They are more difficult to adapt. They become more and more esoteric. It’s a bit more tricky to adapt, but I’m not closing the door. I will not do it myself, but it could happen with someone else.”
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