Epic fantasy authorBrandon Sandersonhas continually proved himself to be one of the most prolific authors in the industry today; his ability to juggle a half-dozen projects or more at a time never fails to impress, and his willingness to be transparent with his readers about that process is even more impressive. At the end of every year, Sanderson releases his “State of the Sanderson” address (viaBrandon Sanderson), detailing what work has been completed in the past year – andSanderson has written a huge number of booksover the years.
This year’s State of the Sanderson came with theunfortunate news of theMistbornmovie’s cancellation, but also gavea first proper glimpse at some of the author’s other projectsthat are beginning to make their way from the page to the big and small screens. Surprisingly, not all of those are part ofSanderson’s expansive Cosmere multiverse; several of his more standalone works are making progress, too.
In development (at studio)
In development (optioned for TV)
Pre-development (waiting for TV option)
4Snapshot
A Standalone Sci-Fi Detective Procedural
Snapshotis a standalone novella, published in 2017;it’s a detective story set in a cyberpunk-esque futurewhere investigators can create Snapshots, recreations of past events with accuracy down to the molecular level. When Anthony Davis and his partner Chaz enter a Snapshot to investigate a pair of seemingly minor crimes, they stumble upon a grisly mass killing that their superiors order them to ignore, and wind up on the trail of a mysterious serial killer only known as the Photographer.
Shooting a pilot may be the next step forSnapshot.
The rights forSnapshotwere acquired by MGM in 2021, and according to Sanderson, production is relatively far along; while the studio has yet to fully greenlight production,the development process is well underway. Shooting a pilot may be the next step forSnapshot, but with no news available about what creatives or actors are attached to the project, it may still take some time before anything is at the point where it can be announced publicly.
3Skyward
Book One In The Sci-Fi Cytoverse
Sanderson’s 2018 young adult sci-fi hitSkywardis the first of four books set in the author’s Cytoverse, a far-future space opera that the author described at a reading of it in 2017 as"How to Train Your Dragon, but instead it’s a girl who finds a spaceship and goes to Top Gun school"(viaYouTube). The main character is Spensa Nightshade, a young woman who has spent her whole life wanting to be a fighter pilot like her father, and defend her home colony of Defiant against the alien Krell.
Skywardwas originally conceived of as part of Sanderson’s massive Cosmere universe, but as it evolved it became its own independent story, as the story referenced the real Earth, which is specifically not part of the Cosmere.
Skywardhas officially been optioned by a studiofor a TV series adaptation, and is now looking for a showrunner to take the reins and work towards developing a pilot. There’s no information yet available as to the scope of the show in terms of the broader Cytoverse, soSkywardmay be adapted alone, or may lead into the subsequent books,Starsight,Cytonic, andDefiant.
2Tress of the Emerald Sea
A Fairy-Tale Cosmere Novel
Released in January 2023 as a part of one ofSanderson’s many Secret Projects,Tress of the Emerald Seais a novel set in the Cosmere, written by Sanderson as a gift for his wife after she pointed out her dissatisfaction at the passive attitude of the character of Buttercup inThe Princess Bride. The titular Tress, who has lived her whole life on an isolated island in the middle of a toxic sea, must venture forth and rescue her beloved friend Charlie from his arranged marriage to the Sorceress of the Midnight Sea.
Sanderson says that there have been talks with studios, and that he is eagerly awaiting an option offer from a studio to adaptTressinto an animated series.
Tress of the Emerald Seaisn’t far along in the adaptation process, but Sanderson says that there have been talks with studios, and that he is eagerly awaiting an option offer from a studio to adaptTressinto an animated series. Since optioning a show is no guarantee of production,it’s unlikely this project will leap to the screen any time soon, but this unique look at a small piece of the Cosmere may be the first glimpse viewers get of that strange multiverse, considering the fate of theMistbornfilm.
Mistborn
TheMistbornseries, created by Brandon Sanderson, is a high-fantasy saga set in the world of Scadrial, where magic is powered by metals through a system called Allomancy. The series focuses on political intrigue, heists, and the battle between good and evil. The first trilogy,Mistborn: The Final Empire, follows the struggle to overthrow a tyrannical ruler, the Lord Ruler. Later books in the series, includingEra 2, take place hundreds of years after the events of the original trilogy, expanding the story into new settings with new characters, all while maintaining connections to the original storyline.Books:Mistborn: The Final Empire (2006)Mistborn: The Well of Ascension (2007)Mistborn: The Hero of Ages (2008)Mistborn: The Alloy of Law (2011)Mistborn: Shadows of Self (2015)Mistborn: The Bands of Mourning (2016)Mistborn: The Lost Metal (2022)
Set on the ash-covered world of Scadrial,Mistborntells the story of Vin, a young street urchin who falls in with the charismatic Kelsier and his motley crew of thieves and malcontents. Vin learns from Kelsier she is a Mistborn, someone with the ability to fully utilize the strange powers of Allomancy, and as he starts to teach her how to use her powers, he also convinces her to help him with the greatest crime ever –overthrowing Scadrial’s tyrannical Lord Ruler.
8 Harsh Realities Of Reading The Original Mistborn Trilogy, 16 Years Later
Brandon Sanderson’s original Mistborn trilogy is an essential addition to the fantasy genre, but some harsh truths arise reading Era 1 years later.
Unfortunately,theMistbornmovie is officially canceled, at least in its current form. First optioned by a studio back in 2010, theMistbornfilm has seen a complicated back-and-forth over the years, apparently getting relatively far in the process before studio pushback on the script saw Sanderson and his writing partners abandon that iteration of the project. While extremely disappointing,Mistborn’s cancelation may turn into an opportunity, as it will allow Sanderson to reevaluate ifMistbornmight work better as a TV series.
