As entertainment goes, fantasy is a huge genre, especially the romantasy corner of things. Books like Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing and Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses as well as their accompanying series have been massively popular with some even getting the attention of studios for screen adaptation. Now, Disney is getting in on things with their own fantasy book adaptation. On Wednesday, it was announced that the rights to Rebecca Ross’ popular YA fantasy romance Divine Rivals were now in the hands of Disney, with the studio having acquired the rights after rival Paramount’s claim expired.
Per Deadline, Paramount previously won the rights to Divine Rivals in June 2025 after a competitive bidding war. The adaptation was in development at Paramount with To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before writer Sofia Alvarez involved, but the project lapsed. Now, Disney has the rights and while producers Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Pouya Shahbazian remain involved, a new screenwriter will be brought on.
While the development of Divine Rivals by Disney is an exciting development for fans of romantasy as a genre, don’t be expecting something like Prime Video’s Fourth Wing. Divine Rivals is the first book of Ross’ Letters of Enchantment series and is more high-magic and war fiction fantasy than your “typical” romantasy. The story follows two rival newspaper journalists — Iris Winnow and Roman Kitt — who correspond (anonymously) via a magic letter connection. You can think of the book a bit like a fantasy historical You’ve Got Mail, and yes, it has every bit of the same amount of charm.
The story is also set in a world inspired by the early 20th century and sees a war between rival gods which gives it a bit more of a modern feel to it than many romantasy stories. The book features the much-loved enemies to lovers trope but is also presented in a way that is a bit more all-ages friendly in terms of the romance aspects — it is something that makes for a solid read and should translate well to a Disney production. It’s also something that will likely have an interested fan base pretty much from the jump. The book has been wildly popular on both the book charts as well as on social media, giving it a built-in audience that is ready to see one of the more unique and interesting fantasy romance stories come to life. It also helps that Disney has done well with fantasy in general over the years and more recently — the series Coven Academy — has been a hit for Disney, both with audiences and with critics.
Are you excited to see Divine Rivals go to Disney? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
