Alright, folks. It’s time. Let’s do this.
Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere has long provided rich conversational fodder for avid fans, readers who love speculating and swapping theories about his interconnected fictional worlds, and anyone anxiously awaiting the next big fantasy adaptation. What follows will be of special interest to that third group, in particular, because this is as promising an outlook as we’ve seen thus far in my “Please Adapt” column.
Given Sanderson’s popularity, the possibility of Cosmere adaptations are often posed as whens, not ifs. In light of the author’s string of recent successes, the time seems right for a deep dive into this unique, interconnected fictional universe, as we consider how screen portrayals of his books might take shape…
Two notes before we start. One: this is a Cosmere-specific “Please Adapt” column, so I won’t cover Sanderson’s Skyward series or other non-Cosmere novels. Two: I’m assuming a baseline knowledge of the Cosmere going in. If you need a quick primer, here’s a suggested reading order and quick overview I wrote with a friend and fellow reader.
The Story So Far
I want to be very clear that I have no special insider knowledge into any possible adaptations—all we have to go on at this point are Sanderson’s own recent statements and hints, so I’ll summarize some of the key points here…
First, we do have some substantive pieces of information from the last few years, namely Sanderson’s work on a Mistborn screenplay and a deal with DMG Entertainment. In his 2020 Brigham Young creative writing lecture series, which you can watch in its entirety on YouTube, Sanderson references a Mistborn screenplay. It also comes up here and there in his other YouTube videos. Sanderson’s YouTube channel is a treasure trove of information, spoilerific answers to fan questions, and lots of intriguing hints at what’s to come.
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During that 2020 series, he seems to be referencing a project optioned by DMG Entertainment. DMG optioned The Way of Kings as well. Sanderson has vaguely hinted that some rights have lapsed and returned to him, though I wasn’t able to confirm whether he was referencing these specific projects. So, clearly, the Cosmere has been of interest to studios even before he made news with the wildly successful Kickstarter in March of this year, but as fans know, no adaptations have thus far seen the light of day.
But it seems like the Kickstarter and the media attention surrounding it may have changed the playing field. You can sift through Brandon Sanderson’s myriad recent streams and videos for the full picture; for our purposes here, I’ll point to a single live stream from August 4, 2022. For a bit more context, this video features the author discussing how Hollywood has come calling this past year. It appears that the overwhelming response to the Kickstarter, along with the popularity of other fantasy shows, has boosted the desire on the network side for more SFF content.
In the stream, Sanderson speaks of the possibility of adaptations with a sense of confidence, answering numerous fan questions directly related to Cosmere movies and shows.
“People are pitching me,” he says at one point, noting the shift in studio attitudes toward his work. The $45-million Kickstarter coup and the media attention it generated has turned Sanderson into a power player. He drops plenty of related tidbits, also emphasizing how he’s the one asking questions and investigating his options: Can he co-showrun a potential series? How much budget will they throw at projects?
It would seem that Sanderson no longer needs to argue his case. Fans of his work have undoubtedly been convinced of the fact that his fictional worlds should be adapted for years, but now Hollywood head honchos are seeing big numbers, and their eyes are lighting up with dollar signs.
“Expect, in the next few months, some announcements that you might find exciting,” Sanderson says. He elaborates, noting announcements will come from the studios involved since they like to manage their own public relations.
He continues: “Imagine your favorite film studio or streamer. I have probably had meetings with high-level people at those companies.” That’s right, all of them. We aren’t privy to any details of the negotiations or discussions, but all signs point to a Cosmere bidding war.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we are on set doing things this time next year,” Sanderson concludes.
So that’s where things currently stand: based on these statements, it seems like the outlook is very positive. So, until we hear something official, let’s discuss how adapting the Cosmere might work! Below, I’ll briefly outline each (currently released) Cosmere book or series and offer my opinions on the ideal format for each one.
Before I begin, a few disclaimers.
First, no animation. I know, it makes me sad, too. This is mostly a choice on my part because I know all too well thatthe mainstream masses can be hesitant to embrace animation. As much as I hate it, I also get it. Studios don’t want to throw money into an animated adaptation that might appeal to existing fans but won’t draw in new ones.
Second, in any case where Sanderson has made statements hinting at an adaptation, I’ve tried to take those hints into account—for example, as much as I want a Mistborn series, movies seem more likely if we go by the Word of Brandon.
Third, because it’s fun, I will offer my suggested actor for exactly one character in each series. (And of course I’d love to hear all your casting suggestions in the comments!)
Finally, I just want to note again that I’m just a guy who loves the Cosmere, and I have no information that isn’t already widely available on the internet. With that in mind, join me for a completely speculative discussion of what the Cosmere might look like on screen!
Mistborn Eras 1 & 2
I suspect we might be looking at a phase one comprising three Mistborn films, one for each of the first three books in the series The Final Empire arc, to be ultra-clear . I wish I could flip a switch and get a premium series instead, but I don’t see it happening. Sanderson has openly referenced a screenplay before, and I do see the appeal of an empire-toppling heist crew learning to work together. The Well of Ascension and The Hero Of Ages both contain arcs that, if adapted skillfully, could rival the storytelling and grandeur of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Era 2 should also be a series, in my opinion, but I expect the Mistborn saga to stay in the cinematic medium. It can be the flagship movie series of the Cosmere cinematic universe. Though I’d prefer longer storytelling formats for this series, it would certainly work better than a Stormlight movie, which I have no doubt would ruin much of what makes those books great. Still, I’ll hold out hope for a Wax & Wayne serial with an Allomancer Jak B-plot.
My pick to play Vin is Millie Bobby Brown.
The Stormlight Archive
To anyone asking what the next TV juggernaut on the level of Game of Thrones will be… here you go.
Just… don’t make movies, okay? Sanderson has suggested he views Stormlight as an anchor series for future Cosmere adaptations, and he views it in terms of a prime-time premium viewing experience. Game of Thrones is the obvious comparison, and it’s a fair one. Stormlight has as much, if not greater, need for CGI and the budget that accompanies it: Think spren, shardblades, shardplate, stormlight, flight, SHADESMAR, and so on.
Stormlight needs space and time to tell its story. It needs a deft hand at the helm, ideally with Sanderson as a co-showrunner. It also needs money.
If given those things, a Stormlight series could be a phenomenon the likes of which we’ve never seen.
I see the novellas—Edgedancer, Dawnshard, and the untitled Rock story—as feature-length specials between seasons of the show.
My pick for Kaladin is Cristo Fernández, most famous for playing Dani Rojas in Ted Lasso.
Warbreaker
Limited series. Give me a 10-episode arc that covers the whole shebang. Warbreaker needs time to steep, lest the colors blend into a jumbled mess.
Warbreaker boasts a vibrant world filled with politics, prejudice, and rich cultural detail. The magic system is intricate, requiring a lot of narrative airtime so readers and eventual viewers can fully understand it. How do the gods work? How do the levels of awakening work? What’s a Breath? Who the hell is Nightblood and why is he the best?
Not to detract from the complexity of Sanderson’s other worlds, but Warbreaker would benefit from a lot of narrative legwork just to get all the gears turning.
I also need at least four hours of screen time for Lightsong.
My casting pick for Warbreaker is the fabulous Natalie Dormer—best known for portraying Margaery Tyrell in Game of Thrones—as Vivenna.
Elantris
Here, I’m pulling for a movie. Elantris is near the bottom of my Cosmere list, both in terms of how much I like it and how acutely I’m pining for an adaptation—that said, I still think it’d be cool to see it on screen.
Unlike other Cosmere stories, however, Elantris could benefit from some edits…a two-ish-hour movie could tell a streamlined version of the story and lose some of the fluff. Elantris was Sanderson’s first published novel, and a retelling on the silver screen could resolve some of the pacing issues and repetitive characterization found in the book.
It’s still a great Cosmere outing, but its standing in my personal rankings has me excited at the prospect of a new, updated take on this tale.
As for casting, I want to hear Idris Elba as the voice of Ashe, Sarene’s seon.
White Sand
White Sand is an interesting case because I’m still hoping for a full novel. For now, the graphic novel format works just fine. I think a short series or a pair of movies would serve equally well here. White Sand has a relatively contained story that follows a smallish bunch of characters, at least by Sanderson’s standards.
With this particular title, I honestly don’t care too much about the exact format, whether film or TV: I just want to see it! I’m not overly concerned with the how or when. That opinion might well change if Sanderson releases a full novel.
Angela Bassett as Khrissalla. Enough said.
Arcanum Unbounded
I’m throwing Arcanum Unbounded at the end of this list because it tells stories from numerous Cosmere worlds. I mentioned Edgedancer above, so I won’t touch on it again here.
The Emperor’s Soul is perfect movie fodder, and Sanderson has said as much himself on recent streams. It could make an interesting follow-up or tie-in to an Elantris movie, considering both take place on Sel and use its magic system.
Mistborn: Secret History provides an interesting challenge. Does that canon work its way into the eventual Mistbornmovies, or is it a separate tale best served on its own?
There’s a case to be made for an anthology series with episodes taking place on different Cosmere worlds. I’d love a “Shadows For Silence in the Forests of Hell” adaption, despite its minimal bearing on the larger Cosmere thus far.
The jury’s out (AKA Cole is uncertain) on this one. In all likelihood, we’ll see eventual expansions of existing Arcanum material that could then lead to bigger adaptations.
For now, let’s cast a single character. I’m going with Gemma Chan (of Crazy Rich Asians and Marvel’s Eternals) as Wan ShaiLu, AKA Shai, from The Emperor’s Soul.
And Now, We Wait.
Hoo boy, I can’t wait for the comments on this one.
Tell me what you want from Cosmere adaptations! Tell me why there shouldn’t be adaptations! Tell me your ideal networks, streamers, and which creatives you want to see attached! Who should play Hoid?! Give me your ideal casting choices! I want to hear it all. Let’s speculate the hell out of this while we wait.
Cole Rush writes words. A lot of them. For the most part, you can find those words at The Quill To Live or on Twitter @ColeRush1. He voraciously reads epic fantasy and science-fiction, seeking out stories of gargantuan proportions and devouring them with a bookwormish fervor. His favorite books are: The Divine Cities Series by Robert Jackson Bennett, The Long Way To A Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, and The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune.
I’m really over TV or movie adaptations at this point. The majority have not been very good and a lot of what makes the original stories great end up being removed.
All that being said, there is only one way I can see to actually make adapting the Cosmere feasible: animation. There is no way to be of consistent quality and output with live action. It would just take too long and cost a lot of money. People age, die, get sick, the need to construct or find locations, etc. I really don’t think the current trend of spending hundreds of millions of dollars for a season of a fantasy adaptation is scalable in the long term.
But animation won’t work just for the fact that it’s ability to make money would be smaller because it automatically restricts the audience who would watch it. A significant percentage of the potential audience just tune out animated projects.
Brandon recently posted that an experienced production team purchased full rights for Mistborn (not just an option) and, while giving all the usual caveats, said that he would be surprised if the adaptation has not begun filming by this time next year.
It’s definitely a situation of when not if with Brandon Sanderson. I hope he gets a few turns at bat, but hopefully, Mistborn will be first, and he’ll hit a home run!
One other thing I forgot to mention. Elantris, Warbreaker and Mistborn 1 are great starting points for a new adaptation. Compared to many other fantasy books, they are very small scale. They take place in one location (for the most part) and the number of characters are relatively small, which makes them budget friendly. Compare them to The Eye of the World where a lot of characters travel across the world in just the first book! For live action, a good test would be to see if they can be adapted for $100 million or less if doing a movie. Maybe $10 million an episode for a TV show.
Note: Some of this may have been mentioned in the article itself, but I haven’t read it because I’m a little behind in my Cosmere reading and don’t want to get spoiled :)
The problem is that while Sanderson is very popular with SFF readers, there isn’t the cultural awareness of his Cosmere anywhere close to the cultural awareness of Marvel, DC, Star Wars, or Star Trek, to name other franchises with cross-over stories and characters. Those properties took DECADES to build a wide enough appreciation to start multiple cinematic properties with lavish budgets.
Also, the backstory of the Cosmere can be hard to grasp by a casual reader. Fun for us Sanderson-heads, but how will my friends who have never read a page of Sanderson grasp what’s going on in an Elantris movie, without wasting a lot of time in exposition? There is no Hobbit-like book to introduce us to the Cosmere like there is for Middle Earth,
Lastly, I am not looking forward to all the fansplaining that will inevitably arise when these projects happen. I can almost feel the smugness of zealous Sanderson fans who think something in the opening of a Mistborn series contradicts a detail about the Cosmere Sanderson mentioned in Warbreaker and they must tell everyone who deigns to enjoy it on a more casual level.
That having been said, I would LOVE any of these projects get made. But I want them done right. A misfire at the beginning would salt the earth for any later attempts. (see Narnia, His Dark Materials)
I can only hear Wit’s voice as Paul Bettany (Jarvis/Vision, MCU; Geoff Chaucer, Knight’s Tale.) It would be interesting to say the least if he was a different actor in each show, though. Always with the same insults. (Anyone who gets the joke, insert it yourself.)
I first pictured Dalinar Kholin as Jim Caveziel (Reese from Person of Interest, or, you know, Jesus that one time) and kept him for awhile, but I don’t think they have time to cast him anymore. Also, Rosharans are East Asianish.
I have Arjun Gupta (Penny for SYFY’s The Magicians) as my dream pic for Kaladin.
No no no no no! Why can’t great things just be left to exist in the format that they were intended? In my opinion, the Cosmere is far too intricate and expansive to properly exist on screen. Plus from nearly every adaptation I’ve seen, it just looks so corny watching someone act out doing CGI magic. If it’s going to be an adaptation, it should be animated.
Mistborn should be animated and have similar artwork to the show Arcane on Netflix.
@@@@@ 5 – The original Narnia adaptation was pretty good, nothing earth-salty about it, and had a string of award nominations (though it only snagged a single BAFTA); the more recent attempt hardly counts as “the beginning” and still managed to get three films out.
“The Golden Compass” didn’t get sequels, but it didn’t salt the earth for further adaptations or we wouldn’t have a very successful one happening at the moment.
Talking about Arcanum Unbounded…what about Sixth of Dusk????
I’ve always thought this would be an excellent movie
Mistborn as a trilogy of movies and following Brandon’s suggestions about increasing women/representation in the central crew. Also I don’t think anything here necessitates changing the characters and their backgrounds much if at all.
Amber Mid-thunder for Vin
Mahershala Ali for Kelsier
Gwendoline Christie for Ham
Mat Berry for Breeze
Bendict Wong for Clubbs
Elliot Page for Dox
I’m still searching for the perfect Sazed but Giancarlo Esposito might do it
Christopher Judge for Marsh
Dev Patel for Elend
Spook should be a relative unknown
Right now, my pick for Dalinar is … Dave Bautista. He’s the right age, he’s got the physicality and the acting chops. He would be terrifying in flashback scenes under The Thrill. He absolutely looks like someone that would be called the Blackthorn and even his own men might be afraid of.
Anya Taylor-Joy from The Queen’s Gambit for Shallan
Simone Ashley from Bridgerton for Jasnah
As someone stated. I think Dave Bautista would make a good Dalinar. He is really the best actor out of the former wrestler crop. I mean cena and the rock are good at what they do, Bautista can be cast in legitimate actors roles. I still think mistborn should be anime style. For people saying it’s doesn’t make enough money,. I think they are missing it. Anime can make tons of money and proper merchandising can be a real moneymaker. I mean they still have Airbender toys and it’s been decades old now. Not only would Sanderson fans watch the series, lots of younger gen z would totally watch it and beg for anything rated to it. Stormlight should be done a few years from now to let Sanderson get more out. But I guess they could start now with 2 years in between movies and he’d probably be done with the series after the first 5 movies.
I might be misremembering, but I think Brandon himself has said in his streams that he would gladly see Dave Bautista as Dalinar :)
Speaking of casting, I have always seen Luke Pasqualino as the perfect Kaladin (though he is probably a bit too old by the time anything gets made), but the article author’s pick wasn’t bad, either. And if the adaptation would have happened a few years back, Charlotte Spencer would probably have been great Shallan.
Regarding the adaptations themselves, I am of a very mixed mind. On one hand, I would love to see the stories I so adore play out on the screen. On the other, they really would have to be done right, in a way that does them full justice, and it seems to always be a gamble. But as some things seem pretty certain judging by the hints Brandon has dropped, I suppose we must just wait and see.
From a personal perspective I think these properties should all be kept as separate shows or films. As long as the known worldhoppers pop up and are seen but only very slowly introduced. Once the regular folk start noticing that an actor of the calibre of someone like Sam Rockwell keeps popping up it will become easier to introduce the concept of the Cosmere, Rather than trying ham-fistedly to start an in-series universe without the effort up setting it up well in the first place (see Zack Synders crapfest DC).
For example I have read what I now know as The Cosmere books since Elantris came out many years ago, and it took until the Stormlight Archive started that I realised this was one universe and I consequently felt a wee bit silly. I’d like the casual viewer to experience that same feeling because once you realise everything is linked then you’ll get people going back and watching over and over again questioning everything like we have with the books.
Ideally this will need one overall producer/showrunner to keep everything in line, kinda like Kevin Feige does for the MCU.
Don’t particularly care who is cast in the individual series my main concern is the worldhoppers and getting them right, Kelsier clearly going to be key as is Spook, Demoux, Vasher, Vivenna etc
Sam Rockwell is my pick for Hoid, mainly because he acts the dick very well. Imagine peoples reaction when they see him in Mistborn (Most logical place to start) then two/three years later in Stormlight/Warbreaker/Elantris etc for a couple of minutes. Would also be a good call for Kelsier.
Danai Gurira (Michonne from walking dead) as Khriss
Currently hearing Stormlight as Audiobooks after reading all of it. In my head this is animated in the style of Avatar, the last airbender. This allows both for the silly stuff (think Shallan/Kaladin) as well as the magic system as well as dramatic, epic scenes. I know this is unlikely to happen, but I actually think that this would be a very good fit for the setting.
Since this is a thread about adapting the books in the Cosmere, it’s not the place to denounce existing or upcoming adaptations of other works/series–let’s stay on topic and keep the discussion civil and constructive, as always! The full commenting guidelines can be found here.
I think the only medium that could do justice to the visual vibrance of Roshar is anime. Or pseudo anime like Aang’s Avatar story. I’ll probably watch any adaptation that gets made but I expect anything live action to be bad.
Honestly, while I agree that stormlight needs to be animated, as it would make the spren work the best, and you can do the world of roshar some credit, I do think we could do some movies or shows for Elantris or Mistborn. Elantris would definitely be the best candidate, as you really only need to cgi the city and seons and the brief times they use magic. Tighten up the script, make Raoden and Sarlene’s relationship actually tragic…and give us Sanderson’s best antagonist in the form of Hrathen. Get an actor like Oscar Issac to show his conflict.
Intersting article…I know adaptations are a hit and miss but I do really want to see these books coming to screen, I agree with the series/movie breakdown, it works. Of course I’ll have to boycott all of social media to avoid the bad takes, for example Brandon has said before he regrets not adding more female characters to the mistborn crew, so I suspect that will be a change in the adaptation, then I’ll have to listen to an endless stream of toxic fans complianing how the change is somehow offensive to Brandon “vision”, nevermind if it’s his idea!
I also do feel cautious about building this as an MCU style connected univerese, all attempts at shared univeres other than marvel have stumbled quite a bit, more often than not because they priortiezed the universe building over telling a good standalone story first, so I hope whichever studio gets the rights will focus on developing each story separately and connect them in only obscure ways, like in the books, this will also help attract new audiences who might want to watch a mistborn movie but they don’t care for a warbreaker series.
So who do I think is the best to adapt this, for the series Apple + kinda has the best track record for me and they don’t have a major fantasy series so they can put all their attention into it.
For the movies I wanna say WB for their track record with the harry potter adaptations, but that studio is currently crumbling, so I’ll just tentatively say universal. As for the cast, I’m open to having unknown actors, this way they can grow into the role.
To the author… a full novel of white sand not only exists, but was the base for the comic, you can get it by subscribing to Brandons mail-list. Unless you already know about that one and mean something else.
Casting I don’t care about too much, I can suspend disbelief for just about anyone in most of the roles.
What I desperately would love to have is John Rogers (Leverage/Librarians) working on Mistborn. If there’s a man born understanding ensemble heist stories, it’s him.
Short of Sanderson having complete creative control over the films, I would not want any of his works adapted. I simply do not trust the current entertainment companies to stay as faithful to the source material as possible and would mearly view it as either a vessel for their own story that they wish to tell or a quick buck they can get by fooling fans into thinking they are going to watch a Cosmere movie.
The Cosmere is a deep work, with some areas being more shallow than others and easily understandable(most elements of Mistborn), while others would require a clever director to tell the audience more complex aspects of the world through unobtrusive dialog or environmental storytelling.
For anyone who is on the fence, ask yourself: is their any combination of director, producer and corporation that you actually trust to make a good and faithful adaptation? I would rather wait a decade or two for Hollywood, Disney, Netflix and the like to either learn their lesson and actually try to make good art instead of a good product, or for them to fail and be replaced by others that have that mentality.
I have always been an adaptational purist and view any change as a mark against the adaptation, though in many cases such marks are so minuscule as to be ignored except after a thorough review. I can understand people wanting any new addition to the franchise they like, but I would rather have Sanderson go a decade without any new books then have an annual movie adaptation that was made without skill,love or vision.
I apologize if I have been ardent in my opinion. I did not intend to offend anyone, but I will stand by what I have said.
Sorry of duplicate post. First time commenting and my first didn’t show up for a while.
Hasn’t he all but confirmed an adaptation of something Cosmere related will be announced within the next few months?
He said something in a stream this month that filming was to start within 6-8 months.
Most people assume its Mistborn Era 1 since its the easiest movie adaptation. But he’s also made comments about the easy of removing vegetation using CGI to properly portray Roshar.
Why not an animated series? Give it to the team that did Arcane and see where it goes.
If you’re deadset on live-action, then the guys that did GoT did an excellent job – when they had books to guide them. In this case, they have all the source material at their disposal, so we should avoid a GOT s8 trainwreck. :D
J. K. Simmons as Dalinar
that’s all I got
I really think we should not be limited to live action adaptions in thinking about the cosmere. One of the characteristics of Sanderson’s writing is the different magic\physics existing as an inherent part of each setting. I think that could be best illustrated by using different media for each project. I would love to see an anthology series akin to Star Wars Visions, each short story produced by a different studio with a different style.
In my mind some of the stories line up realy well for specific media. For example, mistborn would work well as live action. The mists, mistcloaks, and metals would all be visually distinct and look great on film. Warbreaker, on the other hand, would be tough to do live-action. I’ve seen a few greyscale + color live action and they all look funky. Im thinking sin city and thor: love & thunder. However, warbreaker could be stupendous in animation. I think the vibrancy of anime styles would clearly display breathes drawing out the color from objects. But it could be done well with CG too (I’ve seen Arcane listed above and I would love any sanderson works in that style).
I feel Stormlight would be near impossible to do well in live action, and I would rather see it in CG. The storms, coral\oceanic ecology, and giant weird swords would be very hard to do live action without looking hokey.
I don’t have any strong opinions on a media form for Elantris. Though, there must be something interesting they can do with the theme of shapes and cartography. Maybe stop-motion? :P
I haven’t thought through casting at all. But, its been fun seeing others ideas!
Adaptations would be absolutely amazing. Regardless of how good they are (and with any luck they will be masterpieces), I think it’s gonna just be fun to see our favorite characters and worlds on screen. Of course, I trust Brandon to keep a pretty firm grip on all of his stories, if anyones gonna make sure the adaptations are gonna do the books justice, it’s gonna be him! Hopefully it doesn’t take too much writing time away from him though. . .
Personally I’m excited for the possibility of Sanderson’s works coming to screen! I also wanted to say you’re spot on for the casting suggestions! And to the commenter who suggested Paul Bettany for Wit… YES! That’s exactly who I imaged for his role as well.