Apple TV has made a name for itself over the past seven years as a stronghold for science fiction. Thanks to original TV shows like For All Mankind, Severance, Pluribus, and Foundation, it has become a place that genre fans know that whatever comes next is going to have a lot of care and attention (plus a big budget) put behind it. Unafraid to meet a new challenge, though, Apple TV has started to stretch its wings, first by getting into the horror game with the Emmy-nominated Widow’s Bay but also making plans to inhabit the realm of fantasy, both on the big and small screen.
One way that Apple TV intends to do that is by picking up the rights to a long-awaited fantasy adaptation that readers have always wanted. It worked before with sci-fi (Foundation, Silo, and Dark Matter all hailed from books), and to follow the same playbook, they’ve picked up the rights to both Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive. The latter is set to become a TV series, while the former will head to the big screen as a movie. Now, Sanderson has offered his latest update on the Mistborn movie, confirming the script is officially complete.
To his credit, Sanderson has been very open about the progress of the movie since he’s been penning the script himself. Earlier this month, less than twenty days ago, he revealed the progress on Mistborn was “91% of the way” to completion, and expected to be done “next month sometime.” As a result, Sanderson clearly pushed his way through and beat his own previously set (but unofficial) deadline. That said, Sanderson notes that finishing this draft of the script is far from confirmation that the movie is almost here.
“After many months of work, I’m thrilled to announce the first draft of the Mistborn screenplay is DONE!” Sanderson wrote on social media, including a complete printout of the script. “Just in time to celebrate the book’s original publication, twenty years ago this month. Do please remember that this is just an early step in a very long process, but I’m terribly excited by how it turned out!”
As expected, fans of Sanderson’s work were ecstatic with the news. “I’m so excited to SEE this Masterpiece i’m the Big screen!!!” one fan wrote. “I hope we get some LOTR level with this!
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As someone who considers this series an all timer what do I have to do to be in the casting room? I am very picky and have many notes and a clear vision in my head for these characters lol
“I expect a trailer within the week! No excuses,” one joked.
Fans were also quick to make suggestions for the casting, such as Obsession breakout Inde Navarrette as Vin, Lewis Pullman from Top Gun: Maverick and Thunderbolts* as Kelsier, and comedian Matt Berry as Breeze.
As Sanderson himself noted, though, completion of the script is just the first step. Next, Apple TV will seemingly take the screenplay out to potential directors to hear pitches and ideas about how to bring the story to life. Given the level of involvement that Sanderson has in the project, though, it seems likely that he’ll have a say in who that might be. On top of that, the filmmaker will no doubt end up collaborating with Sanderson on further revisions and development. In short, Mistborn may have just moved ahead, but the journey is still a long one.
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