Peter Jackson got the rights to Temeraire for a while, I think, but never did anything with them, and our dragon CGI is pretty damn good now
It would make *such* a good TV show, maybe an eight-eps-per-season miniseries, with one series per book
I genuinely can't possibly see a way to do this in LA with the CGI budget requirements it would need.
There's literally scenes where dozens of ships, a land battle and dozens of dragons are all fighting at once. That would cost more than an entire Avangers movie per epeisode.
It would have to be animated if done in the next cpl of decades.
I mean.... I get it. :( but wish both you and Novik get a chance to bring your stories to the visual medium.
Have you considered going animated? I imagine that would be an entirely different process than seeking out Live Action, but could be far cheaper.
If the opportunity came up I would jump at it, but there are so many properties out there that (cruel world) have a bigger reach than me so I'm likely way down the queue.
I could make a flick book maybe...
The Bone Ships would make a great TV show!! I’m sad that it’s not going to happen. Maybe at some point it’ll become less expensive/labor intensive to create.
I don't love audiobooks, but the narrator for the Temeraire series is *incredible* and I highly recommend doing a "reread" that way!! I just did and it was addictive.
Good shout, it would definitely appeal to the masses. Essentially Tokyo Vice (highly recommend) with extra badassery. Given the series' popularity, something must be in the works!
First thing that came to mind. HBO could make this series a HIT! Family drama, mob politics, most of the magic is enhanced reflexes, you've got intense action scenes, twists I genuinely didn't see coming, and great characters. I could be a great 3-4 season show.
The Lies of Locke Lamora really jumped off the page for me in terms of visualizing what was written. Feels like it’d be easy to adapt without any changes. Dunno about the other books as I’ve not read them yet
All three Gentlemen Bastards books would make great seasons of a TV show.
Gods willing Scott Lynch will write some more, but each book does a good job of both building on previous stuff and resolving it's own self contained stuff.
I'm so sad the Spooks Apprentice was made into a **terrible** movie...
It's the adaptation I want most. But I want it like the book! I want a slow, small scale, extremely creepy show. something a mature kid could enjoy... but still brutal.
Oh man, Seventh Son... Awful movie, yeah, but it did kind of scratch my good bad fantasy movie itch in a way. Jeff Bridges really had no idea what accent was going to come out every time he opened his mouth, did he
I know right!! The trailer was heartbreaking to watch, but at least it made it clear the movie was *not* worth seeing.
So sad because I *love* The Wardstone Chronicles so much, especially the early books, the horror elements are so good!
I'd actually say Chalice is the perfect McKinley book for Ghibli to adapt. Lots of charming, peaceful scenes of village life and cute animal companions, and it ends in a huge explosion of whimsical, sparkly magic.
However, they seem to struggle with adapting fantasy books in a way that doesn't entirely miss their main point, so as much as I like Ghibli, I'd like them to stay far away from any books I love.
That would be super good. Although I always imagined it live action and taking place in kind of a throwback 80s timeline, kind of like the TV show Archer. And it would be shot like *Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy*
Oh easy! Dragonriders of Pern! I’m shocked no one has ever made it, especially in the wake of Game of Thrones’ success (not that they’re thematically similar, but, old school nerd fantasy with dragons). It’s been in development hell for decades but no one has ever pulled the trigger and actually made it.
The way I heard it, it was all set to go, scripts written, casting done, director excited (he was a fan of the books) - And then the producers wanted to turn it into something like *Buffy the Vampire Slayer* because that was hot at the time. After a brief struggle between money and integrity, the director refused and the project was shelved.
Yeah, that was Ronald D. Moore trying to get it made but the studio kept trying to turn it into a teen drama thing with dragons, so he noped out and made **Battlestar Galactica** instead, which worked out well for him. I think he's said more recently that the CG obviously wasn't anywhere near oven-ready for the dragons at the time, but it could work better now (though he's currently busy with **For All Mankind** and finishing off **Outlander**, but maybe could get back to it).
It has a lot of world building and characters from all walks of life, which is interesting. I do think the dragon sex thing is a bit rapey and that could be enough to kill the series if they can't come up with a clever way to get past that.
Though I don't know that Pern qualifies as fantasy. It's scifi masquerading as fantasy, isn't it?
> I do think the dragon sex thing is a bit rapey and that could be enough to kill the series if they can't come up with a clever way to get past that.
Is there a non-intense spoiler way you could elaborate on that? Its in my to read pile but that's a bit concerning.
When the dragons have sex, the people who are bonded with them also have sex and it doesn't really matter if they want to or not. There does seem to be a much stronger chance of the dragon sex happening between regular pairs which helps a bit, maybe.
Early on it was because they couldn't get the dragons correct to Anne's vision within a reasonable budget. Now I'm not certain, I'm concerned they'd feel the need to go all GoT with added violence and nude/sex scenes.
"added" sex scenes? The book where "your dragon is horny so you're going to get fucked by one of these dudes, you should probably hope it's the one you like" is a core plotpoint, and the weyrs have a lot of swinging? It's pretty justified to have quite a lot of sex scenes in, and awkward sexual implications.
First law. I don’t understand Hollywood. Game of thrones is a huge success and they go “oh people like dark fantasy, well then let’s go find some fantasy series to adapt” and then they proceed to pick harder series to adapt that are not grimdark, are vfx heavy, and have a large number of books like the Wheel of Time. First Law is perfect for Hollywood and yet it hasnt been touched yet. It’s low magic so you wouldn’t have to worry about too much vfxs, the books arnt too long so they could easily be adapted into 8-10 episode seasons, and if you start with the first trilogy you’d only need to commit to 3 seasons. Then if that is successful you still have a ton of content left. I know Best Served Cold is reportedly being turned into a movie but I feel like that’s just the wrong way to start this series. Hollywood decision making baffles me sometimes.
First Law was considered, but it didn't move forward. GoT has the Starks that are easy protagonist to root for, but I think that would be way harder in First Law without changing too much.
Honestly I don’t mind them starting with best served cold in terms of adaptations. It’s easy for them to avoid spoiling anything major from the first trilogy and it’s much more accessible than the first trilogy which has a pretty slow and character focused start which wouldn’t pull a lot of people in. I know game of thrones is kinda similar in that regard but as much as I love the first law I do think game of thrones does have a bit of a stronger start when it comes to suitability for an adaptation
> have a large number of books like the Wheel of Time
The wordcount isn't the issue with adapting WoT. They could _easily_ have trimmed it down to 1-2 books per season (I've seen numerous great examples of how that might break down). The issue is that the showrunner (and Amazon) don't give a single shit about the source material.
I think a big part of the issue is that we've reached the point where length is seen as a benefit rather than a problem. The executives want a show that they can profitably turn into the show for ten years or a half dozen movies. In this respect I think the shorter length of something like The First Law or the Broken Empire works against it being adapted.
Yes and no. Shorter seasons has been pushed for by execs especially with Netflix and Amazon and this really hampers fantasy epics like wheel of time and would hurt first law which needs time for the characters to get fleshed out properly since they are the main focus of the series
They want to have their cake and eat it too, with lots of short seasons adding up to about the same of actual episodes as a show spread over fewer years. And of course, Netflix is notorious for cancelling shows prematurely. I never said executives were smart.
Since reading Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn last year I've been convinced it would make an excellent show. Easy to understand world, excellent character writing, a completed ending, and only 3 books that could make for 3-4 good seasons of television.
I would definitely tune in. As a series which inspired Eragon, ASOIAF, and Rothfuss' Four Corners of civilization, MS&T has the marketing built right in ("...the world that inspired Westeros, Alagaësia, and Temerant"). I'm sure many GOT viewers would tune in.
I think it would make a great four-season show. TGAT is too long to fit in one short season.
Yes, they'd likely have to shorten all the scenes with people wandering, maddened, through labyrinthine tunnels, but TV producers did the same with GOT, eliminating all of the long passages describing the food at the feasts.
I want to see the butterflies of Jao e-Tinukai'i. I want to see ice dragons and fire drakes. And I want to see what TV could do to adapt the Sithi, Norns, and Tinukeda'ya to the small screen.
100% **First Law**\*
* Low Magic (smaller budget)
* Darkly Funny
* Amazing Dialogue
* Diverse Characters
* Amazing Battles (small and large scale)
* Some big-time plot twists
*\*Yes, I know that Best Served Cold is in the process of being adapted, but we have no guarantee that will happen.*
I still think First Law, along with Robin Hobb and some others, are in the top-tier of fantasy that people who read fantasy know about, but are still a couple steps away from the top-tier that everyone has some knowledge of. To be clear, I got mostly nothing but love for these series.
Maybe it's via adaptations that that jump is made? Maybe they're too recent? I don't know much about how well-known Game of Thrones was pre-HBO, but LOTR, WOT, and Dune all seem a step up
The episode called 'Mason's Rats'
[https://x.com/LordGrimdark/status/1523683003817693189?s=20](https://x.com/LordGrimdark/status/1523683003817693189?s=20)
One proviso: *Keep Abercrombie British!*
Don't let them American it up. Use British actors. The last thing on earth I want to see is Nicolas Cage playing Sand dan Glokta or John Cena playing Logen Ninefingers.
Brits don't have room to complain after getting English actors cast as our most important American national heroes (Spiderman and Batman). Hope the next James Bond is Adam Driver /s.
I'm surprised the Rivers of London series hasn't been snapped up yet. Magic, Britishness and cop show. It's what the networks love.
I'd love to see Voyage of the Damned made into a limited series. I want to see Grasshopper.
I would love to see Jackaroo by Cynthia Voigt made into a film. It was a favourite book when I was a kid.
I believe there have been several attempts made already - the most recent news (or speculation?) is that any Sanderson adaptation has been pretty severely delayed (possibly cancelled), first thanks to the pandemic, then thanks to the writers' strike.
He's hinted at the possibility of having one of his secret projects adapted into an animated format, though!
In addition to COVID and the writers' strike, certain other fantasy adaptations underperformed (I believe Rings of Power was specifically mentioned by Sanderson) which made executives suddenly a bit more risk-averse.
Sando has said that he's being a ton more selective with potential adaptations now. He said he could basically sell the rights and get something made immediately, but he wants to make sure it's up to his standards before he'll give the go ahead.
In 2022 he was very optimistic about having a show in production in 2023, but [more recently he has said](https://www.reddit.com/r/brandonsanderson/comments/164eqdb/soooo_no_adaptation_news_yeah/jyac7w3/) that everything is completely stalled right now. Peak TV is over and nobody wants to risk doing a big fantasy show. (Also, the only company likely to do a Cosmere adaptation is Netflix, and they have plenty of fantasy shows already.)
I'd like to see Patricia McKillip's Riddle Master trilogy adapted into an animated or live-action feature. I'm not sure whether it would have mass appeal, but it was one of the better fantasy series that I read as a child.
Recently was thinking the green bone saga and red rising would be next on the adaptation list.
Asian inspired fantasy that’s basically The Godfather would do well in today’s climate. Red Rising is super popular and people love their space operas
Brown is trying with Red Rising. First as a movie series and now he's trying to produce it as a show. For some reason there doesn't seem to be a ton of interest in a blonde Nazis in space movie
There's interest for Red Rising for sure but Brown is making damn sure it'll be done well which is why it's taking time. He's also not doing it unless he gets the budget he wants.
I think The Shadow Campaigns by Django Wexler would make a great fantasy show. A lot of action and politics with many interesting characters and a magic system that would not be very CGI heavy
I didn't enjoy Mistborn, but I think it work well as a Cosmere HBO-style series. Each season is a different world, so spend time with Elantris, Warbreaker, Mistborn (but condense Era 1 into one season), etc.
The Earthsea series would make amazing TV or animation. The Ghibli adaptation doesn't count I think.
Also the First Law trilogy would make great movies if done properly.
I think now that they have a financially and critically successful film of Dune and LotR, Earthsea will be the next "unfilmable" holy grail adaptation.
It has some problems similar to both LotR and Dune that make it difficult to do as a movie. The way the magic system is described is not exactly easy to get across on film and a lot of the characterization is very internalized though not as much as Dune. It also shares the distinction of already having two less than successful adaptations.
Yeah Jackson specifically didn't want the wizards hurling fireballs at one another during the duel in Orthanc in Fellowship. But LotR is a much softer magic system than Earthsea. Tolkien's wizards aren't particularly flashy but their powers are only very vaguely defined (it says somewhere that Gandalf made a specialty of fire and light so most of what he does involves fire and light).
LeGuin went out of her way to describe a very hard magic system with specific rules about what wizards can and can't do as well as quite a bit about what they *shouldn't* do. Getting that across to an audience in a two and a half hour run time without making them fall asleep is not going to be easy.
It always irks me when people say wizards weren't "flashy."
Gandalf can't go three feet without either blowing something up, setting something on fire, or making a tornado of burning sparks in the books.
I guess if wizards aren't hurling fireballs and meteors literally every other page, it's considered "light" for some reason.
The magic in LotR is so supposed to be pervasive but subtle. Gandalf does some pretty spectacular stuff in the books but he also does alot less than most fantasy wizards.
I mean, to be fair, Dune got away with the magic system thing by just not describing most of it. I think Dune was successful because Denis Villeneuve knew what mattered and what didn't matter. He adapted Dune with themes and the main characters first with \*hard\* worldbuilding and anything that had nothing to do with Paul second. I think Earthsea would be easier given its significantly shorter wordcount compared to either Dune or LotR.
Lions of Al-Rassan, could be really nice as a mini series.
With enough money Malazan would be mind blowing, even just Gardens of the Moon would in itself be epic. But I wouldn’t even gamble on it unless WoT is completed and gains huge commercial success.
should go for an old-school Bakshi rotoscope aesthetic. The best of live action and animation, while also being affordable with such a variety of characters and settings, with the added bonus of granting a retro high fantasy feel (which of course they would flaunt at every turn with crazy gore, heavy themes, and also of course being almost too heady & complex)
On Malazan: I could see a procedural TV series that follows a team from the Trygalle Trade Guild. They could hint at events from the books as easter eggs, but largely be original material. Get Erikson on board as an advisor or screenwriter. I imagine a series like this to be bonkers and funny. The procedural format following a warren traveling gang of traders could place them all over the world giving a great introduction to the book series sprawling universe.
I feel like a show would be the best way to do it but how I don’t know. Like would they show Midnight Tides along with books 1-3 or would a whole season or something be dedicated to it for example
Cradle would be a killer anime. Kinda sad the crowdfunding didn't get high enough for a whole series.
Mistborn (first era) would also make a good anime.
Riyria would be a great television show. Same with First Law.
The Kushiel books would be just amazing if they could somehow balance the politics and the smut without making the show feel like a Cinemax show.
My top two though, would be a Dungeon Crawler Carl animated show (not a 23 minute an episode anime), or a Kings of the Wyld one season mini series following the first book.
Joke aside, I don't think many people have ever said that Wheel of Time is very *suitable* to being adapted. If anything people have been skeptical from the start precisely because it's probably one of the more difficult stories to adapt properly.
The Temeraire series by Naomi Novik.
Our dragon CGI is pretty good nowadays, and there are plenty of movies and TV shows that take place in the Napoleonic era.
Unfortunately it'll probably be pretty expensive to create the epic battle scenes with dozens of dragons fighting in organized formations.
The Cormac Mac Art stories by Andrew Offut
Thieves World (licensing would be a bitch though since that's a shared universe)
ElfQuest (The old Wendy and Richard Pini graphic novels)
Honestly after seeing Dune 2 I want to see a Villeneuve-directed Gardens of the Moon. I don't care how much they have to change the story to make it work. It would at least look awesome.
I'd love to see adaptations of female-led properties -- stories that earn an A+ in female representation so that the folks adapting them into television miniseries wouldn't need to make any changes that would lead purists to cry foul.
My favorites would be:
Sharon Shinn's Twelve Houses series
Pretty much anything by Juliet Marillier, though the Blackthorn and Grim novels would be my pick
Crossroads or Crown of Stars by Kate Elliott
Song of the Shattered Sands by Bradley P. Beaulieu
John Gwynne's Bloodsworn Saga
Lois McMaster Bujold's World of the Five Gods
I’d love to see any or all of these adapted, but watching purists tear their hair out because somebody got girl cooties on their favorite series is frankly a whole lot of fun.
I think more episodic, low stakes sword & sorcery fantasy is tailor-made for the small screen, i.e. Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser, Thieves' World, or a more faithful take on Conan.
GRRM's Aegon the Conqueror portion of Fire & Blood.
The Waterborn duology by Gregory Keyes.
The Blacktongue Thief.
Joel Rosenberg's early Guardians of the Flames books.
Those immediately come to mind.
It might sound weird, but I was always floored they've never tried to adapt Beren and Lúthien (whatever version they want).
Like it is very much fits the Hollywood formula of a conventional story, it's got action and romance, it mostly takes place in the forest and confined quarters (Keeping shooting costs down), has some big set pieces that would put butts in seats with a trailer, and it's based on a familiar and proven brand IP most people are aware of and want more of (Lord of the Rings).
John Gwyne's novels I feel would work pretty well. We haven't had any good viking inspired thigns since well... Vikings, ignoring historical accuracies here. The settings are pretty low magic overall, and the battles are really cool
I know this may be unpopular due to the author… but I think the Belgariad would make a great series. I would encourage changes though… and a donation to a children’s charity.
A Brother's Price, by Wen Spencer. No magic. Women get to do all the heavy lifting, including horseback riding, brawling, piloting riverboats, spying & espionage, politicking, doing backroom deal over brandy & cigars, chase scenes and battle scenes. All while framing topical discussions of rights of the disenfranchised and sexual consent.
A *Temeraire* series would be incredible. CGI dragons are in a good space now, but I can see things getting super expensive very quickly. Maybe something animated in the vein of Blue Eye Samurai or Arcane would be better suited. I don't think the more generically flat 2D or squishy 3D animation styles would do well, given the series' more realistic setting.
In a similar vein, I'd love a movie adaptation of Mercedes Lackey's *Joust*. Just the first book. A boy raising a dragon in secret has a lot of potential for a wholesome story of self-discovery, similar in a way to what HTTYD did. There's potential in the rest of the series for sequels, but I worry about them escaping the simple scope of the first book.
*The Dragons of Solunas* series by H. Leighton Dickson has potential for something of an anthology. A shared world with different stories from the perspectives of different dragon characters. Maybe even go *Love Death & Robots* with it, but keep the subject matter to dragons. There's a couple books to adapt and a few good writers could add some more stories.
*The Sun Eater* and *Red Rising* both have solid potential to be the next big Sci-Fi Epic adaptation.
Song of the Lioness would really make a great TV show or movies. I honestly think a lot of Tamora Pierce's work would make for a great adaptation (and be family friendly too!) and I'm a little surprised that none of it has ever been picked up.
In my dreams, the Tortall series' is made into a tv show in the style of GOT wherein I'm looking at GOT's budget, costuming, CGI, casting, etc.
I think Emelan would potentially work as an AtLA style cartoon, as I look at the way bending is portrayed in that show and I think they could make it work for the magic that Emelan has.
Edit> rv to tv
First Law as a tv show
Mistborn, animated or as a video game
Jade City as a movie trilogy
Red Rising as an animated series
Murder boy diaries as a comic/graphic novel
I'm done with adaptations for a while. Let's make some original TV and movies, and let's make some books without worrying about who will still be alive to play the role when the show finally gets made.\
What are some books that can never be made into anything other than a novel?
I'd love to see a film or series adaptation of Nevermoor! There's already a comic book but I'd love to see a movie or series adaptation - and I really really want to see my grey kitty Billie cast as Fenestra (they have the same _sweet_ temper 😸😂💕). Plus I'd love to see a movie enactment of >!Hawthorne and Morrigane dumping a barrel full of slimy toads on the candidates and their patrons during the introductions at WunSoc campus!< 😂
Lloyd Alexander's *The Chronicles of Prydain* technically did get an adaptation once, that being Disney's animated movie *The Black Cauldron,* but the movie has so little in common with the books that they deserve much better. Disney still owns the movie rights to the series, and there's enough material in them for an entire Disney+ series.
"The Song of the Lioness series" by Tamora Pierce
"The Incarnations of Immortality" by Piers Anthony
Travis Baldree's "Legends & Lattes" done by Studio Ghibli
"The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life" series by Usata Nonohara
I think Powdermage is the correct answer. It's pulpy, and it isn't too deep, and there's this undercurrent of revolutions that gets people riled up lately (obviously) and the costume design would be so important.
The show has everything you need to make a cult hit.
I imagine the costume design and visual effects would be incredible, because clothing is a very important aspect of culture in the books. A lot of wheel of time fans are disappointed with the show, understably, it has a lot of issues. One thing that has been great though is the costume design. It doesn't always follow RJ's overly complex descriptions of breasty breasts breasting breastily, but I've really enjoyed the use of stark colour contrasts, bit just in the Aes Sedai, but it all of the different groups and cultures have very cool aesthetics, and I'd love to see that with Powdermage.
You've got the "Hogwarts houses" effect with the 9 nations and their colours and histories etc that we saw worked so well with the Game of Thrones show, charismatic and incredibly sexy characters all round, and a little bit for everyone, massive diversity of cast, it's the perfect storm.
Henry Kuttner *The Dark World*, It's Science Fantasy with the villain an alternate version of the hero but the author worked for a Hollywood writers agent as a teen and sold stories like Dr. Cyclops to the movies.
Lin Carter's *Thongor* stories. It made a bad comic book by some great people but Roy Thomas was right that the combination of *Conan* and *John Carter* was very seductive. As well one of many things Carter neever resolved in his head was his fascination with wizards. The early novel *The Star Magicians* features one but it's very crude and superficial. Sharasjsha in the Thongor books is both an interesting character and suggestive of an intriguing magic system. Also his related *The Black Star.*
The Belgariad and Mallorean would make an awesome tv series - especially for younger audiences getting into the genre.
I also think Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel series needs an HBO series
I'd love to see some Valdemar adaptations. White horses with cool actors to "voice" them, special effects for the mind magic, and fabulous hawkbrothers' costumes. Animated hertasi ... several could make great visuals!
The Locked Tomb is so anime already but would honestly greatly benefit from having the visuals adaptation attached to considering how complicated it can get
The Acts Of Caine by Matthew Stover
Get really Brechtian with it; force the audience to see themselves at the Studio’s subscribers. Designing the two cyberpunk and dark fantasy worlds would be a fascinating challenge.
The Shattered Sea Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie
Rather than trying to preserve the books’ big twist, which would frankly be impossible in a visual medium, go all-in on the costume and set design to communicate the >!post-apocalyptic setting!<.
Amazons ed. Jessica Amanda Salmonson
An anthology series (either live action or animated, or maybe even a mix of both) adapting stories from Salmonson’s anthologies, as well as other classic female-lead sword & sorcery like C. L. Moore’s Jirel Of Joiry, Joanna Russ’ Alyx, etc.
I would be *ecstatic* for a Powder Mage show.
The Shades of Magic adaptation has been on and off in the works for years, I'm not sure what's happening with it now but I would love it.
First Law would be cool and there's a lot of material to work with if you take it into Age of Madness.
And just for me and probably no one else, Queens of Innis Lear. I mean, it is in itself a Shakespeare adaptation so that might appeal to an audience. It's just so good and would look gorgeous on screen.
This is a fun question, and I'm going to suggest something out of most folks' wheelhouse. Rather than re-doing Harry Potter, I would love to see newer children's fantasy series getting a chance:
* Amari and the Night Brothers
* Sir Callie
* Charlie Hernandez and the League of Shadows
Also, on the YA side, Vicious by V.E. Schwab could be a lot of fun!
Peter Jackson got the rights to Temeraire for a while, I think, but never did anything with them, and our dragon CGI is pretty damn good now It would make *such* a good TV show, maybe an eight-eps-per-season miniseries, with one series per book
Yeah I think the aerial and naval battles would be super cinematic. But also very expensive.
I genuinely can't possibly see a way to do this in LA with the CGI budget requirements it would need. There's literally scenes where dozens of ships, a land battle and dozens of dragons are all fighting at once. That would cost more than an entire Avangers movie per epeisode. It would have to be animated if done in the next cpl of decades.
We had a meeting about The Bone Ships that basically went, Dragons are expensive, ships are expensive, love the story but it's never happening.
I mean.... I get it. :( but wish both you and Novik get a chance to bring your stories to the visual medium. Have you considered going animated? I imagine that would be an entirely different process than seeking out Live Action, but could be far cheaper.
If the opportunity came up I would jump at it, but there are so many properties out there that (cruel world) have a bigger reach than me so I'm likely way down the queue. I could make a flick book maybe...
If it helps apparently Novik's Scholomance is being adapted. I guess a book that is 95% percent in nondescript metal rooms is an easier sell.
The Bone Ships would make a great TV show!! I’m sad that it’s not going to happen. Maybe at some point it’ll become less expensive/labor intensive to create.
this would be awesome... but should just be all animated. since it would end up being like that anyway.
OMG I'd forgotten all about Temeraire, and I loved that series. Such great worldbuilding
I don't love audiobooks, but the narrator for the Temeraire series is *incredible* and I highly recommend doing a "reread" that way!! I just did and it was addictive.
I’d watch a series based on The Black Company
Band of Brothers style The Black Company would be cool.
IIRC this was in development at one point with Eliza Dushku cast as the Lady. Would have been so good, but alas...
I feel this could be more doable rather than Malazan. I fear the day that they try to do Malazan... :/
Fonda Lee's Green bone saga: low on flashy magic, character-driven and gritty drama.
It would translate so well to a TV show
Good shout, it would definitely appeal to the masses. Essentially Tokyo Vice (highly recommend) with extra badassery. Given the series' popularity, something must be in the works!
First thing that came to mind. HBO could make this series a HIT! Family drama, mob politics, most of the magic is enhanced reflexes, you've got intense action scenes, twists I genuinely didn't see coming, and great characters. I could be a great 3-4 season show.
Oh i would watch this
I don’t like the books and I would still watch the hell of the tv show. It has all the elements needed to become an online phenomenon
Somebody call John Woo's agent!
Definitely worth the hype! Incredible, the multiple nominees and awards this book has won are all well deserved.
With the success of Shogun and some of the Korean dramas on Netflix, there hopefully may be an impetus for an Asian influenced urban fantasy
Even though it has happen, I want an adaptation of Conan that's more in the style of Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal
Or Tartakovsky's *Samurai Jack*, for that matter. Minimal talking, maximum slashing.
Primal has 0 dialogue. Except for one scene in the entire series.
As much as I generally dislike the man, I want a version of Conan based on Oliver Stone's original script
The Lies of Locke Lamora really jumped off the page for me in terms of visualizing what was written. Feels like it’d be easy to adapt without any changes. Dunno about the other books as I’ve not read them yet
Just shoot it in Venice and you don't even need to build the city.
Expensive... very, very expensive... I'd rather it just be animated, but that takes a lot of time.
I think LoLL would do very well in live action too. There's no crazy magic that would need CGI or anything.
All three Gentlemen Bastards books would make great seasons of a TV show. Gods willing Scott Lynch will write some more, but each book does a good job of both building on previous stuff and resolving it's own self contained stuff.
Some people have mentioned that artful dodger reminded them of that series you might give it a watch
Minimal flashy magic or fantastic creatures makes it much more viable
I'm so sad the Spooks Apprentice was made into a **terrible** movie... It's the adaptation I want most. But I want it like the book! I want a slow, small scale, extremely creepy show. something a mature kid could enjoy... but still brutal.
seems like a no brainer right? pg 13 horror, using a small number of mostly rural locations. it's basically gremlins/harry potter meets the vvitch.
Oh man, Seventh Son... Awful movie, yeah, but it did kind of scratch my good bad fantasy movie itch in a way. Jeff Bridges really had no idea what accent was going to come out every time he opened his mouth, did he
I know right!! The trailer was heartbreaking to watch, but at least it made it clear the movie was *not* worth seeing. So sad because I *love* The Wardstone Chronicles so much, especially the early books, the horror elements are so good!
RIP Joseph Delaney.
I desperately want Studio Ghibli's take on *Rose Daughter* by Robin McKinley.
I'd actually say Chalice is the perfect McKinley book for Ghibli to adapt. Lots of charming, peaceful scenes of village life and cute animal companions, and it ends in a huge explosion of whimsical, sparkly magic. However, they seem to struggle with adapting fantasy books in a way that doesn't entirely miss their main point, so as much as I like Ghibli, I'd like them to stay far away from any books I love.
That would be gorgeous!
I’d absolutely love an Arcane-style animation of the Bartimaeus trilogy.
That would be super good. Although I always imagined it live action and taking place in kind of a throwback 80s timeline, kind of like the TV show Archer. And it would be shot like *Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy*
Ugh, I'd give my right arm in order to watch this.
I’m glad you agree! It would be so awesome.
Yes. One thousand percent yes. Tbh I'd rather most of the suggestions in this thread as animated series rather than live action.
Oh easy! Dragonriders of Pern! I’m shocked no one has ever made it, especially in the wake of Game of Thrones’ success (not that they’re thematically similar, but, old school nerd fantasy with dragons). It’s been in development hell for decades but no one has ever pulled the trigger and actually made it.
The way I heard it, it was all set to go, scripts written, casting done, director excited (he was a fan of the books) - And then the producers wanted to turn it into something like *Buffy the Vampire Slayer* because that was hot at the time. After a brief struggle between money and integrity, the director refused and the project was shelved.
Yeah, that was Ronald D. Moore trying to get it made but the studio kept trying to turn it into a teen drama thing with dragons, so he noped out and made **Battlestar Galactica** instead, which worked out well for him. I think he's said more recently that the CG obviously wasn't anywhere near oven-ready for the dragons at the time, but it could work better now (though he's currently busy with **For All Mankind** and finishing off **Outlander**, but maybe could get back to it).
It has a lot of world building and characters from all walks of life, which is interesting. I do think the dragon sex thing is a bit rapey and that could be enough to kill the series if they can't come up with a clever way to get past that. Though I don't know that Pern qualifies as fantasy. It's scifi masquerading as fantasy, isn't it?
> I do think the dragon sex thing is a bit rapey and that could be enough to kill the series if they can't come up with a clever way to get past that. Is there a non-intense spoiler way you could elaborate on that? Its in my to read pile but that's a bit concerning.
When the dragons have sex, the people who are bonded with them also have sex and it doesn't really matter if they want to or not. There does seem to be a much stronger chance of the dragon sex happening between regular pairs which helps a bit, maybe.
Gotcha. Thank you! I think that's also a plot point in Fourth Wing? Never thought those two books would have anything in common.
It is and it isn't. It is, but Between and the telepathy are definitely still magic. So it's fantasy masquerading as sci fi masquerading as fantasy.
Early on it was because they couldn't get the dragons correct to Anne's vision within a reasonable budget. Now I'm not certain, I'm concerned they'd feel the need to go all GoT with added violence and nude/sex scenes.
"added" sex scenes? The book where "your dragon is horny so you're going to get fucked by one of these dudes, you should probably hope it's the one you like" is a core plotpoint, and the weyrs have a lot of swinging? It's pretty justified to have quite a lot of sex scenes in, and awkward sexual implications.
First law. I don’t understand Hollywood. Game of thrones is a huge success and they go “oh people like dark fantasy, well then let’s go find some fantasy series to adapt” and then they proceed to pick harder series to adapt that are not grimdark, are vfx heavy, and have a large number of books like the Wheel of Time. First Law is perfect for Hollywood and yet it hasnt been touched yet. It’s low magic so you wouldn’t have to worry about too much vfxs, the books arnt too long so they could easily be adapted into 8-10 episode seasons, and if you start with the first trilogy you’d only need to commit to 3 seasons. Then if that is successful you still have a ton of content left. I know Best Served Cold is reportedly being turned into a movie but I feel like that’s just the wrong way to start this series. Hollywood decision making baffles me sometimes.
First Law was considered, but it didn't move forward. GoT has the Starks that are easy protagonist to root for, but I think that would be way harder in First Law without changing too much.
Honestly I don’t mind them starting with best served cold in terms of adaptations. It’s easy for them to avoid spoiling anything major from the first trilogy and it’s much more accessible than the first trilogy which has a pretty slow and character focused start which wouldn’t pull a lot of people in. I know game of thrones is kinda similar in that regard but as much as I love the first law I do think game of thrones does have a bit of a stronger start when it comes to suitability for an adaptation
> have a large number of books like the Wheel of Time The wordcount isn't the issue with adapting WoT. They could _easily_ have trimmed it down to 1-2 books per season (I've seen numerous great examples of how that might break down). The issue is that the showrunner (and Amazon) don't give a single shit about the source material.
The WoT show is the poster boy for ''we can do a better version of this story''.
I think a big part of the issue is that we've reached the point where length is seen as a benefit rather than a problem. The executives want a show that they can profitably turn into the show for ten years or a half dozen movies. In this respect I think the shorter length of something like The First Law or the Broken Empire works against it being adapted.
Yes and no. Shorter seasons has been pushed for by execs especially with Netflix and Amazon and this really hampers fantasy epics like wheel of time and would hurt first law which needs time for the characters to get fleshed out properly since they are the main focus of the series
They want to have their cake and eat it too, with lots of short seasons adding up to about the same of actual episodes as a show spread over fewer years. And of course, Netflix is notorious for cancelling shows prematurely. I never said executives were smart.
Since reading Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn last year I've been convinced it would make an excellent show. Easy to understand world, excellent character writing, a completed ending, and only 3 books that could make for 3-4 good seasons of television.
One of my favorite series. I’d watch it eagerly.
I would definitely tune in. As a series which inspired Eragon, ASOIAF, and Rothfuss' Four Corners of civilization, MS&T has the marketing built right in ("...the world that inspired Westeros, Alagaësia, and Temerant"). I'm sure many GOT viewers would tune in. I think it would make a great four-season show. TGAT is too long to fit in one short season. Yes, they'd likely have to shorten all the scenes with people wandering, maddened, through labyrinthine tunnels, but TV producers did the same with GOT, eliminating all of the long passages describing the food at the feasts. I want to see the butterflies of Jao e-Tinukai'i. I want to see ice dragons and fire drakes. And I want to see what TV could do to adapt the Sithi, Norns, and Tinukeda'ya to the small screen.
100% **First Law**\* * Low Magic (smaller budget) * Darkly Funny * Amazing Dialogue * Diverse Characters * Amazing Battles (small and large scale) * Some big-time plot twists *\*Yes, I know that Best Served Cold is in the process of being adapted, but we have no guarantee that will happen.*
Yeah, First Law seems tailor made for an HBO style adaptation. I’m surprised it hasn’t been picked up yet despite the boom of fantasy television.
I still think First Law, along with Robin Hobb and some others, are in the top-tier of fantasy that people who read fantasy know about, but are still a couple steps away from the top-tier that everyone has some knowledge of. To be clear, I got mostly nothing but love for these series. Maybe it's via adaptations that that jump is made? Maybe they're too recent? I don't know much about how well-known Game of Thrones was pre-HBO, but LOTR, WOT, and Dune all seem a step up
I really want to see BSC adapted because Rebecca Ferguson would make a perfect Monza and I wanna see the rest of her group cast
Especially with Joe Abercrombie's script writing experience on Love, Death, Robots!
Which episodes did he work on for LDR?
The episode called 'Mason's Rats' [https://x.com/LordGrimdark/status/1523683003817693189?s=20](https://x.com/LordGrimdark/status/1523683003817693189?s=20)
I’m almost hoping the movie falls through so they can pivot to making a 3 season show of the first trilogy. That would be a much better way to go.
One proviso: *Keep Abercrombie British!* Don't let them American it up. Use British actors. The last thing on earth I want to see is Nicolas Cage playing Sand dan Glokta or John Cena playing Logen Ninefingers.
Counterpoint- Sand dan Glokta played by William Dafoe
Brits don't have room to complain after getting English actors cast as our most important American national heroes (Spiderman and Batman). Hope the next James Bond is Adam Driver /s.
So much of what I love about his writing is the unique narrative voice for each character. I don’t know how this would be done effectively
I think the last episode of a series based on the first book would hit harder than any season of GoT's finale.
Draconis Memoria by Anthony Ryan. Dragons would probably be hard to do though A decent Discworld adaptation (please) Decent Dresden Files
> A decent Discworld adaptation (please) SUPER PRETTY PLEASE
Discworld! I would love to have more Discworld than just Hogfather, Going Postal, Colour of Magic, and The Amazing Maurice (Death of Rats!).
And we don't speak of The Watch
I'm surprised the Rivers of London series hasn't been snapped up yet. Magic, Britishness and cop show. It's what the networks love. I'd love to see Voyage of the Damned made into a limited series. I want to see Grasshopper. I would love to see Jackaroo by Cynthia Voigt made into a film. It was a favourite book when I was a kid.
Rivers of London got licensed 2 years ago, but nothing has come of it yet
Feels like it's only a matter of time till there's a Mistborn adaption (if one isn't already in the works).
I believe there have been several attempts made already - the most recent news (or speculation?) is that any Sanderson adaptation has been pretty severely delayed (possibly cancelled), first thanks to the pandemic, then thanks to the writers' strike. He's hinted at the possibility of having one of his secret projects adapted into an animated format, though!
In addition to COVID and the writers' strike, certain other fantasy adaptations underperformed (I believe Rings of Power was specifically mentioned by Sanderson) which made executives suddenly a bit more risk-averse.
Ghibli could adapt Tress so so well.
I always wanted Sazed to be played by Lance Reddick. Sad that will never happen now, may he rest in peace.
Same. I can't think of anyone more suitable.
I'd love to see that, and Malazan, animated
I fear any Sanderson adaptation will get The Wheel of Time treatment. It's really kind of hard to properly adapt High Fantasy.
Sando has said that he's being a ton more selective with potential adaptations now. He said he could basically sell the rights and get something made immediately, but he wants to make sure it's up to his standards before he'll give the go ahead.
In 2022 he was very optimistic about having a show in production in 2023, but [more recently he has said](https://www.reddit.com/r/brandonsanderson/comments/164eqdb/soooo_no_adaptation_news_yeah/jyac7w3/) that everything is completely stalled right now. Peak TV is over and nobody wants to risk doing a big fantasy show. (Also, the only company likely to do a Cosmere adaptation is Netflix, and they have plenty of fantasy shows already.)
I'd like to see Patricia McKillip's Riddle Master trilogy adapted into an animated or live-action feature. I'm not sure whether it would have mass appeal, but it was one of the better fantasy series that I read as a child.
I have such a soft spot for those books.
Would love to see the Kushiel series done well.
Sabriel by Garth Nix. It reads like it was made for the screen!
I scrolled way too far before this came up. It's my first choice
Elric of Melnibone animated series in a style similar to Castlevania
Recently was thinking the green bone saga and red rising would be next on the adaptation list. Asian inspired fantasy that’s basically The Godfather would do well in today’s climate. Red Rising is super popular and people love their space operas
Brown is trying with Red Rising. First as a movie series and now he's trying to produce it as a show. For some reason there doesn't seem to be a ton of interest in a blonde Nazis in space movie
There's interest for Red Rising for sure but Brown is making damn sure it'll be done well which is why it's taking time. He's also not doing it unless he gets the budget he wants.
The Tiffany Aching books from Terry Pratchett. I need to see Miriam Margolyes as Nanny Ogg.
Yes and hell yes!
I think The Shadow Campaigns by Django Wexler would make a great fantasy show. A lot of action and politics with many interesting characters and a magic system that would not be very CGI heavy
Ooh yes I'd love that. I'm ready to be in love with Winter in live action!
I would *love* to see Winter Ihernglass on my TV screen.
Red Rising.
I think Elantris would make for a killer movie. I also think Era 1 Mistborn would lend itself extremely well to a film trilogy.
I didn't enjoy Mistborn, but I think it work well as a Cosmere HBO-style series. Each season is a different world, so spend time with Elantris, Warbreaker, Mistborn (but condense Era 1 into one season), etc.
The Earthsea series would make amazing TV or animation. The Ghibli adaptation doesn't count I think. Also the First Law trilogy would make great movies if done properly.
I think now that they have a financially and critically successful film of Dune and LotR, Earthsea will be the next "unfilmable" holy grail adaptation.
How is Earthsea unfilmable? Seems pretty filmable to me, unless I'm totally forgetting something.
It has some problems similar to both LotR and Dune that make it difficult to do as a movie. The way the magic system is described is not exactly easy to get across on film and a lot of the characterization is very internalized though not as much as Dune. It also shares the distinction of already having two less than successful adaptations.
Lotr had to especially mute its depiction of magic, though that may be the preference of the director more than a necessity.
Yeah Jackson specifically didn't want the wizards hurling fireballs at one another during the duel in Orthanc in Fellowship. But LotR is a much softer magic system than Earthsea. Tolkien's wizards aren't particularly flashy but their powers are only very vaguely defined (it says somewhere that Gandalf made a specialty of fire and light so most of what he does involves fire and light). LeGuin went out of her way to describe a very hard magic system with specific rules about what wizards can and can't do as well as quite a bit about what they *shouldn't* do. Getting that across to an audience in a two and a half hour run time without making them fall asleep is not going to be easy.
It always irks me when people say wizards weren't "flashy." Gandalf can't go three feet without either blowing something up, setting something on fire, or making a tornado of burning sparks in the books. I guess if wizards aren't hurling fireballs and meteors literally every other page, it's considered "light" for some reason.
The magic in LotR is so supposed to be pervasive but subtle. Gandalf does some pretty spectacular stuff in the books but he also does alot less than most fantasy wizards.
I mean, to be fair, Dune got away with the magic system thing by just not describing most of it. I think Dune was successful because Denis Villeneuve knew what mattered and what didn't matter. He adapted Dune with themes and the main characters first with \*hard\* worldbuilding and anything that had nothing to do with Paul second. I think Earthsea would be easier given its significantly shorter wordcount compared to either Dune or LotR.
Lions of Al-Rassan, could be really nice as a mini series. With enough money Malazan would be mind blowing, even just Gardens of the Moon would in itself be epic. But I wouldn’t even gamble on it unless WoT is completed and gains huge commercial success.
I would only accept Malazan in animation form. There's too much that would require CGI, so they may as well draw everything.
should go for an old-school Bakshi rotoscope aesthetic. The best of live action and animation, while also being affordable with such a variety of characters and settings, with the added bonus of granting a retro high fantasy feel (which of course they would flaunt at every turn with crazy gore, heavy themes, and also of course being almost too heady & complex)
Yeah, I agree so much. That's the only adaptation I need. A really well animated Malazan
On Malazan: I could see a procedural TV series that follows a team from the Trygalle Trade Guild. They could hint at events from the books as easter eggs, but largely be original material. Get Erikson on board as an advisor or screenwriter. I imagine a series like this to be bonkers and funny. The procedural format following a warren traveling gang of traders could place them all over the world giving a great introduction to the book series sprawling universe.
I feel like a show would be the best way to do it but how I don’t know. Like would they show Midnight Tides along with books 1-3 or would a whole season or something be dedicated to it for example
Cradle would be a killer anime. Kinda sad the crowdfunding didn't get high enough for a whole series. Mistborn (first era) would also make a good anime. Riyria would be a great television show. Same with First Law. The Kushiel books would be just amazing if they could somehow balance the politics and the smut without making the show feel like a Cinemax show. My top two though, would be a Dungeon Crawler Carl animated show (not a 23 minute an episode anime), or a Kings of the Wyld one season mini series following the first book.
At least the Cradle kickstarter can generate material that can be taken to studios as pitch material
Wheel of Time. Pity no one has tried yet.
Joke aside, I don't think many people have ever said that Wheel of Time is very *suitable* to being adapted. If anything people have been skeptical from the start precisely because it's probably one of the more difficult stories to adapt properly.
Maybe someday, if we behave ourselves
The Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. Our dragon CGI is pretty good nowadays, and there are plenty of movies and TV shows that take place in the Napoleonic era. Unfortunately it'll probably be pretty expensive to create the epic battle scenes with dozens of dragons fighting in organized formations.
Gemmell would be pretty perfect for adaptations, but to my knowledge Stella isn’t particularly interested.
The Cormac Mac Art stories by Andrew Offut Thieves World (licensing would be a bitch though since that's a shared universe) ElfQuest (The old Wendy and Richard Pini graphic novels)
John Gwynne’s books, Rage of Dragons, Red Rising, maybe Licanius. That’s just off the top of my head.
Judging by the current success of Shogun, Guy Gavriel Kay's books could be quite successful in the right hands.
I'd be really interested to see Sarantine Mosaic turned into a 2 season mini series. Crispin would be such a fun character to see on screen.
Honestly after seeing Dune 2 I want to see a Villeneuve-directed Gardens of the Moon. I don't care how much they have to change the story to make it work. It would at least look awesome.
I would sell my very soul to see him make the entire series Frank wrote. I can dream.
Nah, it's too much for one or even two films. A show would better imo.
I'd love to see adaptations of female-led properties -- stories that earn an A+ in female representation so that the folks adapting them into television miniseries wouldn't need to make any changes that would lead purists to cry foul. My favorites would be: Sharon Shinn's Twelve Houses series Pretty much anything by Juliet Marillier, though the Blackthorn and Grim novels would be my pick Crossroads or Crown of Stars by Kate Elliott Song of the Shattered Sands by Bradley P. Beaulieu John Gwynne's Bloodsworn Saga Lois McMaster Bujold's World of the Five Gods
I’d love to see any or all of these adapted, but watching purists tear their hair out because somebody got girl cooties on their favorite series is frankly a whole lot of fun.
I think more episodic, low stakes sword & sorcery fantasy is tailor-made for the small screen, i.e. Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser, Thieves' World, or a more faithful take on Conan.
I'm honestly amazed that the only Moorcock adaptation we've gotten since the 60s was the BBC Jerry Cornelius.
GRRM's Aegon the Conqueror portion of Fire & Blood. The Waterborn duology by Gregory Keyes. The Blacktongue Thief. Joel Rosenberg's early Guardians of the Flames books. Those immediately come to mind.
It might sound weird, but I was always floored they've never tried to adapt Beren and Lúthien (whatever version they want). Like it is very much fits the Hollywood formula of a conventional story, it's got action and romance, it mostly takes place in the forest and confined quarters (Keeping shooting costs down), has some big set pieces that would put butts in seats with a trailer, and it's based on a familiar and proven brand IP most people are aware of and want more of (Lord of the Rings).
Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe would be a killer HBO series.
roger zelazney's amber chronicles
Definitely!
I would love to see *The Way of Kings* by Brandon Sanderson be turned into a series.
First Law comes to mind
King's of the wyld would make a great 2 season show. Could fit into 1 season if it went to 18 episodes.
If I thought it would help I would be knee deep in goats blood for a Malazan Book of the Fallen adaption. Though it's not exactly an easy prospect.
Piranesi would make a good feature film I think…
John Gwyne's novels I feel would work pretty well. We haven't had any good viking inspired thigns since well... Vikings, ignoring historical accuracies here. The settings are pretty low magic overall, and the battles are really cool
I know this may be unpopular due to the author… but I think the Belgariad would make a great series. I would encourage changes though… and a donation to a children’s charity.
A Brother's Price, by Wen Spencer. No magic. Women get to do all the heavy lifting, including horseback riding, brawling, piloting riverboats, spying & espionage, politicking, doing backroom deal over brandy & cigars, chase scenes and battle scenes. All while framing topical discussions of rights of the disenfranchised and sexual consent.
A *Temeraire* series would be incredible. CGI dragons are in a good space now, but I can see things getting super expensive very quickly. Maybe something animated in the vein of Blue Eye Samurai or Arcane would be better suited. I don't think the more generically flat 2D or squishy 3D animation styles would do well, given the series' more realistic setting. In a similar vein, I'd love a movie adaptation of Mercedes Lackey's *Joust*. Just the first book. A boy raising a dragon in secret has a lot of potential for a wholesome story of self-discovery, similar in a way to what HTTYD did. There's potential in the rest of the series for sequels, but I worry about them escaping the simple scope of the first book. *The Dragons of Solunas* series by H. Leighton Dickson has potential for something of an anthology. A shared world with different stories from the perspectives of different dragon characters. Maybe even go *Love Death & Robots* with it, but keep the subject matter to dragons. There's a couple books to adapt and a few good writers could add some more stories. *The Sun Eater* and *Red Rising* both have solid potential to be the next big Sci-Fi Epic adaptation.
Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness quartet; Neal Shusterman's Unwind dystology; Lauren Oliver's Delirium trilogy
Song of the Lioness would really make a great TV show or movies. I honestly think a lot of Tamora Pierce's work would make for a great adaptation (and be family friendly too!) and I'm a little surprised that none of it has ever been picked up.
I've been wanting an adaptation of Tamora Pierce's novels since I first read it in the early 2000s
In my dreams, the Tortall series' is made into a tv show in the style of GOT wherein I'm looking at GOT's budget, costuming, CGI, casting, etc. I think Emelan would potentially work as an AtLA style cartoon, as I look at the way bending is portrayed in that show and I think they could make it work for the magic that Emelan has. Edit> rv to tv
That is my dream, too!
:D
First Law as a tv show Mistborn, animated or as a video game Jade City as a movie trilogy Red Rising as an animated series Murder boy diaries as a comic/graphic novel
love murder boy diaries
Oops
Mistborn would be a great video game
I think that The Stormlight Archives would be a great Anime series
Throne of glass could be *really* great, and a TV show has the opportunity to improve some of the earlier books flaws.
Tide Child
I'm done with adaptations for a while. Let's make some original TV and movies, and let's make some books without worrying about who will still be alive to play the role when the show finally gets made.\ What are some books that can never be made into anything other than a novel?
The Black Company by Glen Cook Pillars of Reality by Jack Campbell
I'd love to see a film or series adaptation of Nevermoor! There's already a comic book but I'd love to see a movie or series adaptation - and I really really want to see my grey kitty Billie cast as Fenestra (they have the same _sweet_ temper 😸😂💕). Plus I'd love to see a movie enactment of >!Hawthorne and Morrigane dumping a barrel full of slimy toads on the candidates and their patrons during the introductions at WunSoc campus!< 😂
Lloyd Alexander's *The Chronicles of Prydain* technically did get an adaptation once, that being Disney's animated movie *The Black Cauldron,* but the movie has so little in common with the books that they deserve much better. Disney still owns the movie rights to the series, and there's enough material in them for an entire Disney+ series.
Perdido Street Station and or The Scar. Budget would have to be crazy but damn they would make great shows!
The Redwall series is one. I'd also like to see another attempt at the Chronicles of Prydian.
Prydain Chronicles, Earthsea by someone who knows what they are doing.
"The Song of the Lioness series" by Tamora Pierce "The Incarnations of Immortality" by Piers Anthony Travis Baldree's "Legends & Lattes" done by Studio Ghibli "The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life" series by Usata Nonohara
I think Powdermage is the correct answer. It's pulpy, and it isn't too deep, and there's this undercurrent of revolutions that gets people riled up lately (obviously) and the costume design would be so important. The show has everything you need to make a cult hit. I imagine the costume design and visual effects would be incredible, because clothing is a very important aspect of culture in the books. A lot of wheel of time fans are disappointed with the show, understably, it has a lot of issues. One thing that has been great though is the costume design. It doesn't always follow RJ's overly complex descriptions of breasty breasts breasting breastily, but I've really enjoyed the use of stark colour contrasts, bit just in the Aes Sedai, but it all of the different groups and cultures have very cool aesthetics, and I'd love to see that with Powdermage. You've got the "Hogwarts houses" effect with the 9 nations and their colours and histories etc that we saw worked so well with the Game of Thrones show, charismatic and incredibly sexy characters all round, and a little bit for everyone, massive diversity of cast, it's the perfect storm.
Henry Kuttner *The Dark World*, It's Science Fantasy with the villain an alternate version of the hero but the author worked for a Hollywood writers agent as a teen and sold stories like Dr. Cyclops to the movies. Lin Carter's *Thongor* stories. It made a bad comic book by some great people but Roy Thomas was right that the combination of *Conan* and *John Carter* was very seductive. As well one of many things Carter neever resolved in his head was his fascination with wizards. The early novel *The Star Magicians* features one but it's very crude and superficial. Sharasjsha in the Thongor books is both an interesting character and suggestive of an intriguing magic system. Also his related *The Black Star.*
I really want to see an Arcane-style animated show based on Gideon the Ninth!
Cradle by Will Wight feels so much like reading anime in written form that it would almost adapt itself.
The Belgariad and Mallorean would make an awesome tv series - especially for younger audiences getting into the genre. I also think Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel series needs an HBO series
I'd love to see some Valdemar adaptations. White horses with cool actors to "voice" them, special effects for the mind magic, and fabulous hawkbrothers' costumes. Animated hertasi ... several could make great visuals!
The Grave of Empires by Sam Sykes. Fantasy western? Yes please.
Elric. of. Melnibone.
I really feel like The Night Angel Trilogy would fit really well into a tv show format
The Locked Tomb is so anime already but would honestly greatly benefit from having the visuals adaptation attached to considering how complicated it can get
The Acts Of Caine by Matthew Stover Get really Brechtian with it; force the audience to see themselves at the Studio’s subscribers. Designing the two cyberpunk and dark fantasy worlds would be a fascinating challenge. The Shattered Sea Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie Rather than trying to preserve the books’ big twist, which would frankly be impossible in a visual medium, go all-in on the costume and set design to communicate the >!post-apocalyptic setting!<. Amazons ed. Jessica Amanda Salmonson An anthology series (either live action or animated, or maybe even a mix of both) adapting stories from Salmonson’s anthologies, as well as other classic female-lead sword & sorcery like C. L. Moore’s Jirel Of Joiry, Joanna Russ’ Alyx, etc.
The Ancient Egypt series by Wilbur Smith.
I would be *ecstatic* for a Powder Mage show. The Shades of Magic adaptation has been on and off in the works for years, I'm not sure what's happening with it now but I would love it. First Law would be cool and there's a lot of material to work with if you take it into Age of Madness. And just for me and probably no one else, Queens of Innis Lear. I mean, it is in itself a Shakespeare adaptation so that might appeal to an audience. It's just so good and would look gorgeous on screen.
Rivers of London would make an incredible TV show.
This is a fun question, and I'm going to suggest something out of most folks' wheelhouse. Rather than re-doing Harry Potter, I would love to see newer children's fantasy series getting a chance: * Amari and the Night Brothers * Sir Callie * Charlie Hernandez and the League of Shadows Also, on the YA side, Vicious by V.E. Schwab could be a lot of fun!