Adaptations of epic fantasy series are tricky things, as anyone who’s followed The Wheel of Time‘s long road to the screen knows. In 2018, Raymond E. Feist’s Riftwar Saga was optioned for television; just a few months later, Feist said it hadn’t panned out.
But now, an even more exciting potential adaptation is in the works. A new SFF and horror-focused company, Six Studios, has picked up the rights to the first six Riftwar books—meaning Feist’s solo Riftwar Saga and the Empire Trilogy, which he co-wrote with Janny Wurts.
Deadline says the Riftwar Saga is “considered one of the best known pieces of fantasy IP not yet adapted for the screen,” which is an interesting way to frame it. The first trilogy, beginning with Magician, centers on a young orphan named Pug whose mastery of magic may be vital in a battle not just between different people, but between the forces of Order and Chaos. The Empire Trilogy takes place concurrently, but is set on a different world, Kelewan, where a girl named Mara unexpectedly becomes the head of her family and must learn to play her world’s complex political games. The two worlds are brought together by the Rift that gives the series its name.
Adapting the books together makes a ton of sense; the contrast between the two worlds, and the drastically different experiences of Pug and Mara, have the potential for really compelling viewing. (Also, it keeps the main characters from being almost all men.)
Six Studios has quite a team assembled to adapt the books, including writers from Obi-Wan Kenobi and Fear the Walking Dead. Two former Lucasfilm executives, Kiri Hart (The Last Jedi, Star Wars Rebels) and Stephen Feder (Solo), will consult on the series. Jeff Huang and Carl Choi, the founders of Six Studios, will produce. No network or streaming platform is attached yet.
Buy the Book
Daughter of the Empire
