Just ahead of the series entering production in Budapest, Hungary, it has been announced that Vikings star Travis Fimmel is set to join the cast of Dune: The Sisterhood, the upcoming spin-off series taking place 10,000 years before the event of the film. The report comes from Deadline, who also gave some insight on the character Fimmel would be playing.

Fimmel has been cast as a charismatic soldier named Desmond Hart. His enigmatic past will lead him to gain the Emperor’s trust, allegedly at the expense of the Sisterhood. Fimmel is most well known for his portrayal of Ragnar Lothbrok in Vikings, one of the main characters in the first four seasons of the historical drama, so it's easy enough to see how he might play a character like Desmond Hart.

Based on the novel Sisterhood of Dune written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, Dune: The Sisterhood reportedly takes place 10,000 years prior to Frank Herbert's original 1965 novel and Denis Villeneuve's 2021 film. The story follows Harkonnen Sisters as they combat forces that threaten humanity's future and the origins of the Bene Gesserit order. Diane Ademu-John is the series creator and serves as the show's co-showrunner and writer. Ademu-John also serves as an executive producer for the project alongside co-showrunner Alison Schapker. Emmy Award winner Johan Renck (Chernobyl, Breaking Bad) will direct the show's premiere and will also executive produce

Indira Varma as Ellaria Sand in Game of Thrones
Image via HBO

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Who is Already on the Team for Dune: The Sisterhood?

Fimmel would join a cast headed up by Emily Watson (Chernobyl), who would play Valya Harkonnen and would star in the series alongside Shirley Henderson (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) as Tula Harkonnen. It was also announced in October 2022 that Indira Varma, who recently starred in Obi-Wan Kenobi, has joined the series as Empress Natalya. Additional cast members also include Sofie Boussnina, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Faoileann Cunningham, and Aoife Hinds. Villeneuve, who directed the original film and is directing Dune: Part Two, would also serve as an executive producer on the project alongside those mentioned above as well as Jon Spaihts, Scott Z. Burns, Matthew King, John Cameron, and Cait Collins. Herbert, Byron Merritt, and Kim Herbert also executive produce the series, with Anderson serving as a co-producer. HBO Max and Legendary Television will produce the series.

Dune: The Sisterhood has no official release date announced as of yet. Check out the official trailer for Dune, the first film in the series, below.