Apple TV Lands Rights To Brandon Sanderson's Fantasy Universe

Apple TV has acquired the screen rights to Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere series, one of the most expansive fantasy franchises in modern literature. The deal gives the streamer access to Sanderson’s Cosmere books, with Apple TV mainly focusing on adapting the Mistborn novels as films and The Stormlight Archive as a TV series. Stormlight has already been picked up by the production company, Blue Marble, led by Theresa Kang, who was a WME agent.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the agreement is unusual. The deal occurred in the aftermath of a heated negotiation process between the fantasy author and several major studios. Under the terms of the agreement, Sanderson will have control over the adaptations of his work. Sources claim that he will write, produce, and even have a say during the approval process for any decisions made regarding the projects. These rights are allegedly very uncommon and give him more control than J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter) and George R.R. Martin (Game of Thrones).

Although the Cosmere novels take place in different places and time periods, they are united by a broader shared universe. The stories are connected by the death of a powerful entity known as Adonalsium, whose power is split into 16 fragments and scattered throughout the universe. The fragments give the worlds that make up the franchise different types of magical powers.

The original Mistborn trilogy follows sorcerers who lead a rebellion against an oppressive empire. The Stormlight Archive begins with The Way of Kings, which takes place in a world that is fueled by supernatural storms, knights, and creatures called Voidbringers.

Cosmere has....some extremely passionate fans. Could be massively huge if done right. Glad it's Apple, as they tend to give sci-fi/fantasy more breathing room.

AppleTV also seems to have better quality in their shows.

And I'm amazed they gave Sanderson so much control. Good for him.

Fuck I keep hearing about Mistborn and this universe...guess I'm going to have to read it

Mistborn and the other Cosmere novels are very YA. Very safe for work. Inoffensive. Great world-building. Mediocre character development, especially in the Stormlight Archives. But still a fun read. Just read them in order of publication, because the often recommended plan of starting with Mistborn makes the earlier novels even more of a beating.

Mistborn and the other Cosmere novels are very YA. Very safe for work. Inoffensive. Great world-building. Mediocre character development, especially in the Stormlight Archives. But still a fun read. Just read them in order of publication, because the often recommended plan of starting with Mistborn makes the earlier novels even more of a beating.

Wait what's the correct reading order then?

There isn’t a correct reading order. There is an in-universe, chronological reading order. There is a by-publication-date reading order, which I favor. Then there is the famous just-start-with-Mistborn, (or, sometimes, the Stormlight Archives) reading order. The later books are more polished than the first novel, Elantris. If you like fantasy, especially YA-ish fantasy, Elantris is a tolerable to good read, but it definitely has its rough spots compared to the later novels.

Sanderson has his own suggested reading orders.

I‘ve only read a few from the Stormlight… really enjoyed how creative the worlds are which I really enjoy. But I find his dialogue and character developments kinda weak.

IO9: "Sanderson revealed he spent years finding someone to adapt Cosmere. This past May, he pitched an adaptation to “all the major streamers and studios [in Hollywood], and I had a lot of great experiences.” All of them tried to bid, but Apple won out because the meetings all went well from start to finish."

There was also the matter of control: under this deal, Sanderson will write, produce, consult, and approve the cast for Mistborn and Stormlight, which the Hollywood Reporter notes gives him considerably more control than, say, George R.R. Martin. He’ll also co-showrun the show, and the search is on for someone else to help him with that.

But to him, what really sealed the deal was that he liked Apple’s vibe and its streaming approach, including its “very careful rollout of specific films.” It’ll be awhile before either movie or show comes out, but he’s confident things will go his way and told fans to buckle up: “Follow me along as I write the screenplay, hear me grouse about how difficult it is to take a 200,000-word book and condense it to a two-hour movie. That’s going to be our next six months or so.”

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When it finally comes out

On 1/30/2026 at 8:31 AM, YChang said:

I‘ve only read a few from the Stormlight… really enjoyed how creative the worlds are which I really enjoy. But I find his dialogue and character developments kinda weak.

The problem with the Stormlight series is that each book gets progressively worse. The first one is outstanding, the second one pretty good, the third one OK, the fourth one was difficult to get through and the fifth one ... at that point I didn't care enough to read it.

I'm trying to start mistborn...bit of a slog early, lots of descriptive world building. Hope it speeds up a bit.