In Dune‘s world, many characters are driven by some kind of ambition— ambition for power, ambition for glory, ambition to be known in the world. But Dune: Prophecy‘s Sister Lila, played by Chloe Lea, is a much different kind of character. This character, new to the universe of Dune, is driven instead by kindness and the ambition to do good and help those around her. In a dangerous world full of power plays and backstabbing, Sister Lila is the kind of person we long to root for.
At Dune: Prophecy‘s New York City premiere, Nerdist chatted with Chloe Lea about Sister Lila and dove into what motivates this gentle member of the Sisterhood, what she would do if she were in charge, and how Chloe Lea became a huge Dune nerd. (We approve!)
Nerdist: Sister Lila adds the power of kindness into the mix of the Sisterhood’s powers. What kind of sister do you think Lila would want to be, ideally?
Chloe Lea: I think she wants to be someone who feels like she can do the right thing for the Sisterhood, and I think she’d want the Sisterhood to be quite a moral place that kind of works for people and looks out for them. And yeah, I don’t know how supportive she’d be of everything that’s currently happening in the Sisterhood. But I think, yeah, Lila, her true nature is to be an empath, and I think she really cares about the underdogs and people who are kind of less fortunate than her.
So, if Lila could become in charge of the Sisterhood, what do you think she would do?
I feel like if she were involved with Arakkis at all, her main thing would be helping out the Fremen and trying to bring them peace and make sure that they have access to their own territory.
Sister Lila is not a character from Dune‘s lore, but did you look to the lore at all as you were sort of preparing to be her?
I did. I looked at the lore of the Sisterhood and just what it meant to train to be a sister, and that was basically all I did for my character. The rest of what I looked at was kind of just out of my own personal interest. I was really interested in the Orange Catholic Bible and the Butlerian Jihad and all of that. I mean, I just found that all very fascinating. But yeah, that was for my own personal curiosity once I got sucked into this world.
And what do you think Sister Lila’s main motivation is as a character?
She just wants to find out who she is. She wants to figure out who she is, which, I think, is quite a relatable thing, especially for a teenager. I also feel like she wants to find her purpose in the Sisterhood. I think she really cares about the order, and she believes that it can do good things.
Finally, how did you first get introduced to the world of Dune?
It was through the audition for this role, which is insane because it feels like I knew nothing about Dune‘s universe, and now I know far too much; I’m trying to learn more. So I think I was introduced through getting the role, and I’m so grateful that I was because I’m so happy to be a part of something so immense.
Dune: Prophecy premieres on Max on November 17.
Editor’s Note: Dune: Prophecy is a Legendary Entertainment production. Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks.