What was the process behind getting this part?
I was just so happy to read the scenes, because I knew this was an important part.
Does that change your process at all?
Image via Nimesh Niyomal
It had to work.
For me, Javicco was important.
For me, Constantine was important.
Image via HBO
And it was important that our relationships looked believable.
Because Francesca is all about feeling, she’s all about heart, and those are interesting things.
The only comment I made was,“OK, so Francesca lives by her heart.
Image via HBO
“So this is what stuck with everyone, and this is what I kept as my belief internally.
Her story with her son, it’s not real.
And you want emotion.
You want people to invest in your character.
That is the only thing that I thought of.
Did Francesca Ever Really Love Javicco in ‘Dune: Prophecy’?
Image via HBO
Tabu Shares Her Take
You mentioned the imprinting, which adds a layer of complication to the Francesca-Javicco relationship.
What was your interpretation of that?
Do you feel like she actually did grow to love him?
Set in the universe of Frank Herbert’s Dune series, this sci-fi epic follows the political and spiritual struggles on the desert planet of Arrakis. As factions vie for control of the prized spice melange, a prophesied hero emerges, challenging the balance of power and the fate of the galaxy.
TABU: Yes, absolutely.She definitely loved the emperor.
It comes and goes.
And she is here to manipulate him.
She holds a very powerful place in the Imperium.
But when Javicco tells her, “Stay.
Stay here with me,” she’s happy.
You know that she is happy and she’s hopeful.
So definitely, she loves him.
We do see Francesca in flashbacks as a younger character.
TABU: It was very important.
I had the entire script.
So all that information is important to have.
It translates into your performance later.
“Sisterhood above all.”
It’s such a great way to introduce somebody who is so powerful, but also significant.
Was that the first scene that you filmed for the show?
TABU: Not at all.
The shot where I get off of the spaceship was shot on the last day.
That was the last shot of my entire work on Dune.
And I’m so glad it was the last, because I gathered the entire crew for a photograph.
I couldn’t have got such a big crew and all the other actors in one frame.
I wanted that photograph.
But that was not the first.
My scene with Josh was on the first day.
They imagined it being like this from day one.
They had thought and designed this entrance for me forever.
I used to tell Alison,“This is the kind of entrance that a hero gets.”
It is somewhat rooted in what Valya and the Sisterhood want, to maneuver him into that position.
Do you think that their plan also aligns with Francesca’s own personal ambitions for her son?
TABU: I think so.
Because no mother would want to see her son just wasting away his life.
When the emperor is the father of your son, you want him to do something for your son.
You want him to stop having this troubled relationship with your son.
It really served her own personal aspirations for [him].
But I think she is doing it becauseshe wants to see her son in a secure position.
How did you approach such a heavy scene for your character?
TABU: Yeah, it’s very heavy.
Especially with Javicco, because he found Francesca after so many years, he’s really liking this.
He wants her to stay.
And for Valya to come and…
I also think that Valya suspects that Francesca is not going to kill him.
When she gives her the Gom Jabbar, she sees the look on Francesca’s face.
Andthat is the most tragic part of Francesca and Javicco.
It was very sad to even do that scene.
TABU: It’s the only way that their story could have ended.
If she had lived on, then she would have lived only to confront Valya.
There was no other purpose.
It can only turn to that and become another chapter of vengeance from Francesca’s side.
Or they would have escaped, and they would’ve gone off to some other planet.
We just see them alive together, or we see them dying together.
That’s how potent their love story is.
All episodes ofDune: Prophecyare available to stream on Max.
Season 2 will premiere at a date yet to be announced.
