Update:
Jacqueline Carey has responded to the news on Twitter, announcing that “what we’re working toward is a series on Starz,” with the project not yet in the development stage.
Thank you so VERY much to everyone for the excitement! What we're working toward is a series on Starz. And I think that would be totally awesome! but we haven't even entered the development stage so don't plan on setting your VCR just yet. 😊
— Jacqueline Carey (@JCareyAuthor) October 18, 2019
Original article:
Kushiel’s Legacy fans, rejoice! The Publishers Marketplace newsletter has announced that the rights for all nine (yes, you’re reading that correctly!) books in Jacqueline Carey’s three-trilogy epic have been sold to Lionsgate. But there’s an open question as to whether this means a Kushiel’s Dart film or a more involved, perhaps Outlander-esque, TV series. Or both?
According to the listing, Dan Hadl, the studio’s Executive Vice President of Television Business Affairs, will serve as producer.
Although the deal was filed under the “Film” category, it’s not clear whether the adaptation will ultimately end up as a movie, TV show, or both. Nine epic books with a story spanning more than a century is a Star Wars or Lord of the Rings-esque undertaking. In addition, the Kushiel book series deals with eroticism and the balance between sex and power with a depth that would almost certainly call for an R rating, whereas television would allow far more flexibility.
And considering all the upcoming fantasy adaptations competing to fill our Game of Thrones-shaped void, like Amazon Prime’s The Wheel of Time, Netflix’s Shadow and Bone, and BBC’s The Watch, it would make a lot more sense if Lionsgate threw an adaptation in the ring, as well.
The author Jacqueline Carey thought so, too, back in 2014. In an update on her website, Carey wrote:
“After having watched three seasons of Game of Thrones (I don’t have HBO, so I catch up by binge-watching DVDs), I will say this. I now believe that Kushiel’s Legacy could be made into a pretty damn awesome series, one that gets the delicious nuance of the intrigue, the epic scope of the plot(s), the pageantry of the battles, and that confronts the erotic aspect head-on.”
As for casting choices, Carey suggested “wildly talented unknowns” (as the Game of Thrones cast largely were before the show began) in the key roles, with Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany as Phèdre.
No word yet on a cast, crew, or a production start date for this possible adaptation. In the meantime, check out our re-read of the Phèdre Trilogy, as well as our primer to the world of Kushiel’s Legacy.
