Could the next great fantasy screen franchise be here? Apple TV believes so.
The streaming giant has closed what has been described as an unprecedented deal to land the rights to the Cosmere books, the fictional literary universe by fantasy author Brandon Sanderson.
The first titles being eyed for adaptation are the Mistborn series, for features, and The Stormlight Archive series, for television.
The latter already has producers involved: Blue Marble, run by former WME agent Theresa Kang, is attached to executive produce The Stormlight Archive television adaptation.
The deal is rare one, coming after a competitive situation which saw Sanderson meet with most of the studio heads in town. It gives the author rarefied control over the screen translations, according to sources. Sanderson will be the architect of the universe; will write, produce and consult; and will have approvals. That’s a level of involvement that not even J.K. Rowling or George R.R. Martin enjoys.
Sanderson’s literary success and fan following helped pave the way for such a deal. One of the most prolific and beloved fantasy authors working today, he has sold over 50 million copies of his books worldwide, collectively across his series.
Powered by his unique and loyal legion of fans, he has raised nearly $100 million through crowdfunding, including a record-breaking Kickstarter publishing campaign for four novels that totaled nearly $42 million, the most successful in the platform’s history.
Perhaps most astonishingly, he has been headlining his own fantasy convention that has sold out every year since launching earlier this decade. (The next one run Dec. 3 to 5, 2026, in Salt Lake City, FYI.)
While the Cosmere books are set in various worlds and eras, the underlying premise concerns a being named Adolnasium who is killed by a group of conspirators. The being’s power is broken into 16 shards, which are then spread out throughout many worlds by the conspirators, spreading many kinds of magic across the universe.
The first Mistborn trilogy of books centered on metal-using magicians who attempt to overthrow a despotic empire. Stormlight Archives’ first novel, The Way of Kings, is set in a world with magically powered storms, magically powered knights and monsters known as the Voidbringers.
Sanderson is repped by WME and Matthew Sugarman at Weintraub Tobin.
The Way of Kings by Brandson Sanderson
Michael Whelan
