Apple TV has established its expertise in the sci-fi genre, and it’s coming for the fantasy world next. The streamer has landed the rights to make film and TV adaptations of Brandon Sanderson’s best-selling Cosmere novels, in what’s termed “an unprecedented deal”.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the author will have significant control over the projects, including the final say, as writer, producer, and consultant. The Mistborn series is set to be the first of his works headed for big-screen development, starting with 2006’s The Final Empire, followed by The Stormlight Archive for television. Blue Marble is already onboard to executive produce the latter, and little else is known.
While the Cosmere books span various worlds and eras, the overarching premise involves a being named Adolnasium, whose power is broken into 16 shards and scattered across the universe, after being killed by a group of conspirators. The first Mistborn trilogy, often referred to as “Era One”, focused on the efforts of a secret group of metal-using magicians who attempt to overthrow a dystopian empire and establish themselves in a world covered by ash.
The Way of Kings, the first entry in the Stormlight Archive, introduces a setting besieged by recurring disasters known as Desolations, where magically powered knights battle against the monstrous Voidbringers. It was published in 2010, and four sequels have been released since.
To date, the Cosmere universe comprises 18 novels, as well as several short stories and graphic novels, earning Sanderson the status of an all-time fantasy great alongside J.R.R Tolkien and George R.R. Martin. The writer has sold over 50 million books, and first rose to fame by finishing Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series after the latter’s passing.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
