What did Dune: Prophecy star Tabu say about her Sister Francesca role? Details explored

Indian actress Tabu starred as Sister Francesca in Dune: Prophecy, which concluded with Season 1 on December 22, 2024. The Max series is set 10,000 years before the events of Frank Herbert's Dune books and follows the Harkonnen sisters' efforts to establish the order of the Bene Gesserit through the Sisterhood.

Valya Hoarkonnen calls for Tabu's Sister Francesca in the final two episodes of the show to manipulate the Emperor into supporting the Sisterhood's cause. It was revealed that Sister Francesca was once Emperor Corino's mistress, who also had an illegitimate son, Constantine, with him.

Her entry in the show was to "strain the balance of power in the capital'' and influence the Emperor.

More on Tabu's remarks on her character in Dune: Prophecy in our story.

How did Tabu prepare for her character in Dune: Prophecy?

While Tabu's Sister Francesca appears in the last episodes of Dune: Prophecy, her importance in the story cannot be sidelined, especially her romantic past with Mark Strong's Emperor. Their relationship and the motive for bringing her in were critical to her character in the show. Tabu based her character on this past and used it to prepare for her role:

“It’s [her past with Emperor] a very, very strong premise for me to build a character on, but also, the interesting part was because it was a romantic association that I was supposed to have with the Emperor. It gave this character its own space and its own potency to explore.”

She also felt that wearing the whole Sister Francesca ensemble also helped her in getting to know the character more:

“Also wearing that costume, wearing that veil, just being different and looking different from how I have looked – I have never had this. It is such a distinct look,”

How was Dune: Prophecy star Tabu's experience playing Sister Francesca?

While Tabu is not unknown to the world of International cinema, having worked on international projects before, working on Max's Dune: Prophecy was surely a new experience for the actress, as discussed by her in an interview with Variety:

“I think it’s the first time ever in my career, or at least in the past 20 years or so, that I was working with people who I never met before, who have never worked with before, [in] a place that I’ve never been to before,”

Since her character exists in two time periods, with actress Charithra Chandran playing her younger version, she felt meeting with her was good for understanding the depth of the character. Since Chandran was born to Indian Tamil parents, Tabu felt it was easy for her to connect with the actress to discuss their shared character:

“It was really nice to have that meeting, and because she’s also familiar with my work, and because she is originally born to an Indian family, she has that kind of introduction. So it was not difficult. And I think the transition feels believable,”

Since Dune: Prophecy was majorly a women-led show, as it outlined the efforts of the Sisterhood to establish the order of Bene Gesserit, Tabu said that she felt empowered to be associated with a show that also had women in creative positions and called them 'women of substance'.

Indian actress Tabu has done some International projects in the past including Mira Nair’s The Namesake, Netflix's A Suitable Boy, and Ang Lee's Life Of Pi, which makes her a suitable choice for showrunner Alison Schapker.