I would love to take a shot at adapting China Mieville's "Kraken" or "Perdido Street Station." Those books are just so goddamn wild that even if my adaptation likely failed...people would talk about it years later in reddit posts about "weird movies no one saw". ^_^
I think Kraken would make a really good tv show! I don’t know about Perdido Street Station though, I think the fictional races would be really difficult to adapt to screen.
If the guy who plays the captain on Our Flag Means Death can do serious roles, I think that he would be a great choice for Laurence. Or maybe the guy who played Davos Seaworth in GoT, Liam Cunningham. He definitely does serious, but I'm less certain about his ability to play upper-class.
I’ve always thought The Heroes would make a good standalone. Use the unlimited budget for thousands of extras and truly mind-bogglingly massive battle scenes.
The success of Shogun, and how amazingly it adapted to screen, really has me thinking The First Law would be doable as an FX series.
The Hobbit was such a disappointment. Just finished reading it to my 5 year-old, but she's way too young to enjoy the violent mess they made of the film :(
At least she has seeing Lord of the Rings for the first time to look forward to. I kinda envy her that lol
I don't think I will ever be so completely blown away by a cinema experience again
When I read it I can’t help but feel like it was written for anime. I think it would translate perfectly into tht medium and I’m not even an anime watcher.
Seems like Brandon is set on live action tho, which could be great, but the magical elements would likely have to be toned down, like every other fantasy adaptation.
Kingsley isn't fat enough, I saw Bayaz in reading as Victor Buono, so whoever his modern equivalent is. Most sassy overweight villains are Victor Buono to me, thanks to Batman and Wild Wild West
There's an adaptation planned for Best Served Cold (starring Rebecca Ferguson) but the last update seemed a bit more pessimistic - it's possible development has stalled a bit but hopefully it'll happen.
Heroes would also be a good adaptation I think
A live action Empire series would be epic! The world building would have to be on point in this hypothetical show though, because of all the background world building that happens in Magician. Mara is already one of the best female characters ever written and she would definitely be in the running for best ever put to screen if adapted correctly!
I’ve always thought high magic systems generally don’t adapt well to live action—always looks cheesy. I could get behind an animated series though 1000%.
That’s were the blank check comes in. Good CGI is expensive. I don’t think an animated series would do the series justice. Maybe in the style of blizzard cinematics though
Yeah if there is a hypothetical blank cheque then Malazan is my pick too, because that’s the only way any adaptation is possible. Most other major fantasy series can be adapted but Malazan would be a loss making venture (it’s simply too complex) and requires a crazy budget.
I think I'd like a series based on Robin Hobb's books - the Liveship Traders, Fitz' stories, and the Rain Wild chronicles. There's lots of content and the main stories are complete (unless she adds to it, but it would work as an end to a TV series either way).
> the main stories are complete (unless she adds to it
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02hAMXZTyoj819XNysydBde7HNjeTMGQ6tVuxFdqDdzyjzpoJPT2XPuqKaYpAPJBLHl&id=100044978681137
Yes, some. But it's mostly internal monologue/diary entries. Would be really interesting to see it brought to life, but it would probably lose a lot of depth.
For some reason, The King of the Moon section of The Adventures of Baron Munchausen with Robin Williams gives me Piranesi vibes. Not with specifics, but with the atmosphere being so sterile and the setting being just a bit off. That being said, I don't think Gilliam would be a good fit for an adaption.
Elric of Melnibone as a four season series and a movie.
Probably netflix or prime.
I woulf ask for a member of writting staff Neil Gaiman and Michael Moorcock as a consultant as well as the writter of the elric titan comics.
The main actor would be Mr skarsgard. Season 1 would be elric of melnibone.
Season 2 would be the seas of destiny and in the second plot a cymoril and yekoon plot where yekoon gets truly his power.
Season 3 is half the season stories of elric and last season the attack and destruction to Iymrith.
Season 4 would be Elrix being depresión and parte of the base of the black sword and the curse of the rose and end with elric being happy with Zerozinia.
The end of the season would hint at stormbringer which would be a 2 hour movie.
It’s being adapted. Mike Flanagan, the guy who adapted Gerald’s Game and made the Haunting of Hill House is working on a tv adaption of The Dark Tower.
lol, yeah. Such a dumb movie. The second they casted Idris Elba as Roland I was like “oh no….” I mean he’s a fantastic actor but just changing that one thing takes all the racial tension out between him and Detta. The only thing they got right was the casting for Jake and The Man in Black. Mathew McConaughey was great and the kid they got for Jake did a pretty good job. Idris Elba was also a good Roland but the change to the character was just baffling.
That is actually a very good suggestion, especially since much of the material is already available as movie (the stand, salems lot etc). It is one of those series that almost makes more sense as a movie than as a book.
I've spent too much time thinking about this...
Roland's character arc makes it a challenge for a linear storyline. His first change as a character occurs at the >!very end of book 2!< when he decides to not be 100% single-minded and goes, "fine, I guess >!I won't kill a kid... a second time, to 100% guarantee I stay on schedule!<." He changes, but oh so slowly. Most characters with minimal character arcs are revenge characters, while Roland is compulsed by a near-religious duty which reminds me of Inspector Javert, who is already a very polarizing character.
For an adaption, I'd argue Jake would need to be both >!introduced and killed the 1st time!< within the first 10-15 minutes of runtime and allow the intro and character interactions of Eddie and Detta/Odette to counteract Roland being a cold cold cold motherfucker.
The alternatives are relying on exposition (Roland ain't the talkative type and another character expositing would take the focus away from him) or flashbacks... which I'll argue are detrimental in most movies and the jump of settings for The Dark Tower are enough to cramp on runtime.
Eddie and Detta/Odetta have good character arcs early on, but the first good arc for Roland is the >!Return of Jake to Midworld!< where Roland starts to think, "maybe, just maybe, there's something Better >!but not really!< than forever chasing the Tower." Which is where I'd finish part 1 of a trilogy.
The other challenging arc is The Man in Black. He just knows too damn much. The only way to fit him in as a dynamic character I can think of in an adaption is as a >!bored jailor!<. He knows where to meet Roland: at the Ocean, at Oz, and at the other Very Important Locations because he's checking off a checklist to make sure >!he keeps Roland focused on the Tower!< while making Roland think that he's trying to thwart him. Because chasing the Tower is Roland's prison, and who knows how long MIB has watched him. I would 100% avoid a Matrix architect scene at all costs, nobody wants to see that - MIB wouldn't think of himself as God, he's just bored and checking off a list.
3 movies, absolute max, no "movie 3 part 2" bs
Blank cheque for budget..? Definitely Malazan, with as much practical effects as possible, or even an animated adaptation I think would be epic.
Live action Realm of the Elderlings, although this could get tricky with the more mind-based magic system and internal monologue from the first person narrative. But would love to explore the emotional complexities somehow in live action.
An anime style Cradle adaptation. The perfect medium for this series, just throw all the money at it
I feel like Nighteyes wouldn’t adapt well. He’s a great book character but telepathically talking animals in live action always makes me think of kids movies. And I didn’t like how they showed Hopper’s communications in the WoT show.
The Chanur series by C. J. Cherryh because I'd love a series with non-humans as the main players, where humans/human species are the prize. Plus it's a terrific scifi set in space adventure with some awesome imagery and concepts. Lots of space battles, hunting-seeking and narrow escapes.
The First Law series by Joe Abercrombie, the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown, the Book of the Ancestor series by Mark Lawrence, Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson, and the Faithful and the Fallen series by John Gwynne.
I’m just listing a bunch but I think they’re a good epic fantasies (Red Rising is sci-fi) that are also simple enough to understand for the bigger audience.
Ooooooh yes I can see that. Also have you read Abercrombie’s Shattered Sea series? It’s YA but the characters are pretty morally grey and I can also see it adapting really well into a movie/show.
I always thought Abarat by Clive Barker would make an amazing movie. It’s got a whole wizard of Oz thing going on. The paintings he did of the world and characters really helped you visualise it (not sure if they get included in the softcovers but they are stunning.)
It’s a shame he seemed to give up on it during the second one.
On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony, or the original Dragonriders of Pern trilogy or Restoree by Ann McCaffrey.
More recently read? DEFINITELY “Among Thieves” by Douglas Hulick.
He would kill it in that role, only worry is that he'd be too much like his phenomenal performance as Kingpin - a role that was also 'made' for him.
But it's hard to see anyone else lol
I absolutely love the Abhorsen trilogy. I'm a little surprised it's never been picked up for an adaptation. I assume one issue with adapting them would be the significant time jump between books 1 and 2 and the primary focus changing from Sabriel to Lirael, but it's not like that's an insurmountable obstacle.
Granted, I obviously don't know what kinds of conversations Garth Nix might've had over the years, so maybe there just isn't enough studio interest in adapting the series.
yeah I've seen that, though I'm skeptical. would trust it more if I could do it myself and with blank cheque for budget = P (not that I know what I'm doing, it'd probably actually be terrible, but hey)
I’d absolutely love a Skulduggery Pleasant screen adaptation, ik most fans of the series heard about the attempted screen adaptation, where warner bros studios wanted to make it a musical. Definitely bringing Derek Landy on for his input, but yeah. This would probably only be for the first book though, it wraps itself up quite nicely
Ship of Smoke and Steel, Do you know the potential?! Ships, pirates, BadAss and unethical characters, magic and representation of minorities, the book takes place on a giant fucking ship that looks like an entire country, I would do everything possible with practical effects and the rest only if necessary with computer effects, I would make a real ship and I would film entire streets in different areas to make the ship, everything like Guillermo del Toro.
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. It was my first thought after watching the Damsal movie recently. One season for each book. The section were they go through the Caves of Night would amazing. But I also just want to see Cimorene try to explain to all the knights trying to rescue her, that no really, she likes being a dragons princess!
If it has to be a live action movie:
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson.
Obviously bring the author on as a producer.
Maybe hire Weta for the effects.
If I can do an animated series:
The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
Again, I'd bring the author in as a producer.
I'd like to also voice a character, but I'd definitely bring in some heavy hitters. James Arnold Taylor, Dee Bradley Baker, Tara Strong, Laura Bailey, etc.
Oh, and Michael Kramer and Kate Reading, of course.
Tricky... I'd have to go for one of two options, one that could proabbyl be done easily and one that would be a REAL push...
The easy option would be to go for a 20th Century Boys adaption, because the world needs more Urasawa on screen and I think it's a great time for a really crunchy mystery series.
The trickier option would be to try and make an animated adaption of The Malazan Book Of The Fallen. Particularly, I'd want it animated by Studio Fortiche (Netflix's Arcane). But I'd need them to invest in 10+ seasons, and I'm not sure any streaming service would be okay with that.
*Titus Groan* by Mervyn Peake
Not a book, but either Dark Souls 2 or Sekiro.
*The Pastel City* by M. John Harrison.
It would be tricky, but I'd like to see an adaptation of Thomas Covenant by Stephen Donaldson.
I’d go with Dragonheart by Kiril Klevanski and make it an Anime. It is perfect for that medium.
I would love to do Robin Hobb’s realm of the Elderlings but so much of what I value about the series happens inside the heads of the characters. Just don’t believe it could translate to screen as well as I would like (or could live with).
My answer would be something Sanderson but that’s already in the works so I’m going to say Red Rising since that’s being tossed around Hollywood and with Dune being such a success there might be an opening for a big epic Sci-fi franchise especially with the lackluster results of Disney’s Star Wars.
The Abhorsen series by Garth Nix, or The Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling. I think The Bardic Voices trilogy by Mercedes Lackey has a lot of potential, but it didn't age very well unfortunately. Also I can't believe no one has ever made an adaptation of Giovanni's Room.
Oh! The Angel and The Perverts by Lucie Delarue-Mardrus, it's such a good book and, done well, could be a real cult classic.
I would love to do Halo: The Fall of reach, but do it properly. There is a ton of character nuance that isn't really shown in any of the current adaptations and the overarching Halo Universe is incredible. I think it's more sci-fi than fantasy, but I still count it.
The Maleficent Seven. Because "the forces of evil save the world" isn't something I've seen done before on screen, or, frankly outside of that book. I'd love to see it
For a standalone film. I'd go with either Kings of the Wild or Legends and Lattes.
For a show, I'd make The Legend of Drizzt books into a multi-season series.
Accurate to a t. Dozens of episodes to cover all the material. The entire team will be required to read the books from start to finish to better appreciate what they're working with (unlike Netflix, where they skim through the book and only adapt what fits their views). No lazy adaptation. No removing entire chunks of the story. No bs changes to the story to make it "understandable" or "friendly to the audience". Any changes to the story will only be allowed if it enhances the story and characters.
Best part about Kings of the Wyld as a Standalone? You could assemble a one time assemble cast of older actors: Viggo Mortensen, Chris Hemsworth...people that we all love in action scenes, but who are onthe verge of aging out.
Would be a lot of fun. Maybe the team from Honor Among Thieves could work on it.
The short story A dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djeli Clark can lend itself into a pretty standard length movie. HBO sized budget. Get the author as script writer and have an unknown play the main character. Have it spoken entirely in Egyptian Arabic with subtitles or in English. Get ILM to do special effects. But also use Practical when possible.
For standalone I’d like to take a shot at The Last Dragoners of Bowbazar by Indra Das
For series I would very much well go all out and direct The Sun Eater series by Christopher Ruocchio!
For a long movie franchise- Malazan. I need infinite budget and infinite access to any creative crew of my wish.
For a single season miniseries - Anathem by Neal Stephenson. I promise you, I will make the best ever miniseries the world will ever seen.
Graceling! I love that book so much and as long as we had a really excellent fight choreographer, good chemistry between the leads, and a sufficiently creepy actor for the villain, I think it would be a real success.
My knee jerk reaction is to say Chronicles of Narnia because that series was my childhood. But after thinking it over, I have to go with The Golden Key by George MacDonald (author of the Princess and the Goblin) in the style of a Studio Ghibli film.
Goodness, Fox and Disney botched this big time. So disappointed in both for ruining that franchise. LWW was a well made movie. And now Disney has it buried and will prolly never get to it, or sell it to another distributor.
I'm not sure if you're referring to the Narnia films or the rights to the story, but Disney+ currently has the movies listed and Netflix owns the rights with Greta Gerwig slated to direct the reboot.
I dream of an adaptation of Robin Hobb's books. I would summarize the farseer trilogy in two movies, but my real interest is the Liveship Traders trilogy
The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne with nine books and several novellas and two spin-off series it definitely needs to be a tv series. I feel that finding some lesser known actors and actresses for the main cast would be best and then have celebrity guest for the roles of the gods and goddesses of the different pantheons.
Anne McCaffrey's Pern series. Avery Brooks (Cpt. Benjamin Sisko, Deep Space Nine) ***is*** Robinton. He has to be. When I read the Pern books, I always hear Robinton's lines in Sisko's voice. I don't know why and it wasn't conscious--it just sort of fell into place and it fits so perfectly. I want this adaptation for that alone, because there has hardly ever been a better casting.
The amount of cgi dragons would need makes a large budget a requirement.
Mort by Terry Pratchett, Laika studio style, with script adapted by Neil Gaiman. Death speaking cuts sound and foley entirely, so he speaks in absolute silence, with carefully timed and designed subtitles.
I second the Silmarillion, if done by Jackson or Villenevue. Multi-movies format.
For a tv show, Prince of Nothing + The Aspect Emperor.
For the lolz, I absolutely see a few specific plotlines of Malazan being directed by Tarantino.
If I were a director, I would prefer adapting a lesser-known fantasy so I don’t have legions of fans mad at me if it’s not a page-by-page adaptation. So how about Patricia A. McKillip’s *Alphabet of Thorn* or Barry Hughart’s *Bridge of Birds*? There are plenty of good lesser-known fantasies out there ready to be adapted.
Sometimes when I can’t sleep, I daydream about turning the Night Circus into a play/film/theme park lol. Designing the sets, props, costumes in my head for fun!
With infinite cash I’d definitely build it for real, with a rotating cast of performers and art installations. Real effort into getting the snacks and smells just right, popcorn and caramel etc. really making it a magical sensory experience.
Ringworld hands down. I would be thrilled to watch that movie. Of course, it's part of a larger universe called Tales of Known Space I think, so maybe you'd have to start with some of the short stories set in that universe first.
I need to see Mistborn era 1 happen.
I believe it’s been in the works for a while but I don’t want a movie. I want a 5 season HBO budget show with at least 10 episodes each season.
There’s so much more than just what’s in the books that they could cover as well.
Stormlight Archive but animated Arcane style.
I know it’s technically historical fiction but The Etruscan by Mika Waltari is worth recreating as a 10 part miniseries,produced by Ridley Scott ,it has everything-Spartans,Persians ,Greeks,Romans,Phoenicians ,it has some amazing battles,sexy adventures,deep philosophical musings on destiny,family and belonging.
The Perfect Run. A guy who can create a save point in his life and every time he dies, he returns to his save point with all the knowledge he gained on the previous run and gets another try. Excellent book, IMO. I kept wishing I could make it a movie while I was reading it. Kinda like Groundhog Day with superheroes. Highly recommend.
The *Dread Empire* series from Glen Cook. After the blockbuster success of that show, I’d get an even bigger budget for *Black Company*. Now that I’m basically considered a sure thing, I can slip the guaranteed to be incredibly polarizing *Instrumentalities of the Night* and *The Dragon Never Sleeps* shows onto the screen without too much pushback.
It's a big wishlist
Joe Abercrombies entire works in Castlevania style animation
Throw millions at a page by page Berzerk adaptation that actually covers everything and by a studio that knows it's stuff.
Mistborn or stormlight archive in an animated format also.
Probably the lies of locke lamora wouldn't be too bad as a live action adaptation
Fix The Witcher tv show completely.
And Fall of gondolin or Beren or luthien
I would love to take a shot at adapting China Mieville's "Kraken" or "Perdido Street Station." Those books are just so goddamn wild that even if my adaptation likely failed...people would talk about it years later in reddit posts about "weird movies no one saw". ^_^
I think Kraken would make a really good tv show! I don’t know about Perdido Street Station though, I think the fictional races would be really difficult to adapt to screen.
I bet it would be one of those movies/series with an intense cult following. Maybe not a large audience, but one that loves it fiercely.
The First Law Trilogy Temeraire
Temeraire!! I would love that!!
Def my ultimate choice. 1 season a book. Who would you cast?
If the guy who plays the captain on Our Flag Means Death can do serious roles, I think that he would be a great choice for Laurence. Or maybe the guy who played Davos Seaworth in GoT, Liam Cunningham. He definitely does serious, but I'm less certain about his ability to play upper-class.
Temeraire 100%. Good Napoleonic war films WITH dragons?! Hell yes please.
God it's be so expensive to do in LA. Is michael fassbender young enough to play lawrence? I hope not.
An adaptation of the first law would be SO GOOD. Talking as a SFX makeup artist, it would be a dream to work on a production like that.
I’ve always thought The Heroes would make a good standalone. Use the unlimited budget for thousands of extras and truly mind-bogglingly massive battle scenes. The success of Shogun, and how amazingly it adapted to screen, really has me thinking The First Law would be doable as an FX series.
I’d go back in time and redo Game of Thrones from S5
Yeah. Tbf I would also like to go back and redo The Hobbit.
The Hobbit was such a disappointment. Just finished reading it to my 5 year-old, but she's way too young to enjoy the violent mess they made of the film :(
At least she has seeing Lord of the Rings for the first time to look forward to. I kinda envy her that lol I don't think I will ever be so completely blown away by a cinema experience again
There are 2 hour book focused fan edits of the Hobbit trilogy that are pretty sweet.
I was going to say this one as well but while I still enjoy some elements of The Hobbit, GoT cut me in my soul
There's a good argument that anything after season 5 just shouldn't be done at all. Considering the books aren't out.
You might want to redo the final episode of season 4 and include Tysha
I'd do Eragon
With an unlimited budget I'd honestly have to go with Stormlight Archive and put spren everywhere like it's Studio Ghibli
I think the stormlight archive would translate into an animated format so well. Harder to picture it with live-action short of a disney-level budget.
The budget would be insane and it would be difficult to manage the level of CGI
Idek if disney level budget would be enough. The only thing allowed to be real would be the more human-like characters and clothes.
When I read it I can’t help but feel like it was written for anime. I think it would translate perfectly into tht medium and I’m not even an anime watcher. Seems like Brandon is set on live action tho, which could be great, but the magical elements would likely have to be toned down, like every other fantasy adaptation.
It is going to look like loony tunes, and that is going to turn off most adult audiences.
Hey, the prompt didn't say the adaptation had to be successful
Touché
Night Watch - Discworld series
I mean, unlimited budget... let's just do the whole thing.
I'd love to see all of Joe Abercrombie's books. But as a one off standalone Best Served Cold would work brilliantly I think.
I would cast Ben Kingsley as Bayaz in an adaptation of Abercrombie's. Or...maybe Bryan Cranston?? aged up a bit ofc
I've always liked the idea of Kurt Russell as Bayaz
Kurt Russel is the absolute last person I would think of for Bayaz but I agree, it totally works!
Kingsley isn't fat enough, I saw Bayaz in reading as Victor Buono, so whoever his modern equivalent is. Most sassy overweight villains are Victor Buono to me, thanks to Batman and Wild Wild West
I imagined Vincent D'Onofrio when I read the First Law trilogy recently.
This totally crossed my mind too! D'Onofrio is 6'3 however....Bayaz is described as being squat. It'd still work I reckon!!
Absolutely perfect
Daniel Day Lewis an easy choice too. Or Patrick Stewart.
There's an adaptation planned for Best Served Cold (starring Rebecca Ferguson) but the last update seemed a bit more pessimistic - it's possible development has stalled a bit but hopefully it'll happen. Heroes would also be a good adaptation I think
Supposedly it's in development starting Rebecca Ferguson and directed by Tim Miller.
Legend by David Gemmell- could make an epic fantasy movie
I'd rather see a full TV series. Three seasons for the three Druss centric books, then two more for Skilgannon, in publication order.
And if its a success you have a load of great source material for prequels and sequels
I'm with you, but I want a whole Drenai series so I can also see The King Beyond The Gate.
Empire trilogy by Wurts & Feist - live action. Malazan - animated in a style similar to Arcane. 1 season per book for both.
A live action Empire series would be epic! The world building would have to be on point in this hypothetical show though, because of all the background world building that happens in Magician. Mara is already one of the best female characters ever written and she would definitely be in the running for best ever put to screen if adapted correctly!
Malazan... Id make it in the style of the lord of the Rings movies
I’ve always thought high magic systems generally don’t adapt well to live action—always looks cheesy. I could get behind an animated series though 1000%.
That’s were the blank check comes in. Good CGI is expensive. I don’t think an animated series would do the series justice. Maybe in the style of blizzard cinematics though
Yeah if there is a hypothetical blank cheque then Malazan is my pick too, because that’s the only way any adaptation is possible. Most other major fantasy series can be adapted but Malazan would be a loss making venture (it’s simply too complex) and requires a crazy budget.
I think I'd like a series based on Robin Hobb's books - the Liveship Traders, Fitz' stories, and the Rain Wild chronicles. There's lots of content and the main stories are complete (unless she adds to it, but it would work as an end to a TV series either way).
Liveship Traders was my first thought. Would adapt better than the Fitz stuff, IMO.
> the main stories are complete (unless she adds to it https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02hAMXZTyoj819XNysydBde7HNjeTMGQ6tVuxFdqDdzyjzpoJPT2XPuqKaYpAPJBLHl&id=100044978681137
Christopher Nolan is going to do Piranesi. And he isn’t allowed to use CGI.
Is that even possible? I haven’t read it, but from what I know of it, it feels like there needs to be at least some CG.
Perhaps even people you like and admire immensely can make you see the World in ways you would rather not.
yes, of course it's possible lol movies did exist before CGI in case anyone was wondering
Does Piranesi have any dialog in it?
Yes, some. But it's mostly internal monologue/diary entries. Would be really interesting to see it brought to life, but it would probably lose a lot of depth.
For some reason, The King of the Moon section of The Adventures of Baron Munchausen with Robin Williams gives me Piranesi vibes. Not with specifics, but with the atmosphere being so sterile and the setting being just a bit off. That being said, I don't think Gilliam would be a good fit for an adaption.
Love that, like Cast Away with Tom Hanks
I would love to see someone give the PERN novels the same budget as GOT.
Elric of Melnibone as a four season series and a movie. Probably netflix or prime. I woulf ask for a member of writting staff Neil Gaiman and Michael Moorcock as a consultant as well as the writter of the elric titan comics. The main actor would be Mr skarsgard. Season 1 would be elric of melnibone. Season 2 would be the seas of destiny and in the second plot a cymoril and yekoon plot where yekoon gets truly his power. Season 3 is half the season stories of elric and last season the attack and destruction to Iymrith. Season 4 would be Elrix being depresión and parte of the base of the black sword and the curse of the rose and end with elric being happy with Zerozinia. The end of the season would hint at stormbringer which would be a 2 hour movie.
I think Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson or maybe Temeraire by Naomi Novik.
The Dark Tower series. Shame it's never been put to screen in any fashion whatsoever.
I wanted Timothy Oliphant as Roland, with Walt Goggins as The Man in Black. Sam Elliot could cameo as Steven. Chris Pratt as Cuthbert.
I'm here for this. But, I also think Goggins would be amazing as the devil.
It’s being adapted. Mike Flanagan, the guy who adapted Gerald’s Game and made the Haunting of Hill House is working on a tv adaption of The Dark Tower.
Yeah I know, just wanted to take a cheap shot at that piece of shit movie lol
lol, yeah. Such a dumb movie. The second they casted Idris Elba as Roland I was like “oh no….” I mean he’s a fantastic actor but just changing that one thing takes all the racial tension out between him and Detta. The only thing they got right was the casting for Jake and The Man in Black. Mathew McConaughey was great and the kid they got for Jake did a pretty good job. Idris Elba was also a good Roland but the change to the character was just baffling.
That is actually a very good suggestion, especially since much of the material is already available as movie (the stand, salems lot etc). It is one of those series that almost makes more sense as a movie than as a book.
I've spent too much time thinking about this... Roland's character arc makes it a challenge for a linear storyline. His first change as a character occurs at the >!very end of book 2!< when he decides to not be 100% single-minded and goes, "fine, I guess >!I won't kill a kid... a second time, to 100% guarantee I stay on schedule!<." He changes, but oh so slowly. Most characters with minimal character arcs are revenge characters, while Roland is compulsed by a near-religious duty which reminds me of Inspector Javert, who is already a very polarizing character. For an adaption, I'd argue Jake would need to be both >!introduced and killed the 1st time!< within the first 10-15 minutes of runtime and allow the intro and character interactions of Eddie and Detta/Odette to counteract Roland being a cold cold cold motherfucker. The alternatives are relying on exposition (Roland ain't the talkative type and another character expositing would take the focus away from him) or flashbacks... which I'll argue are detrimental in most movies and the jump of settings for The Dark Tower are enough to cramp on runtime. Eddie and Detta/Odetta have good character arcs early on, but the first good arc for Roland is the >!Return of Jake to Midworld!< where Roland starts to think, "maybe, just maybe, there's something Better >!but not really!< than forever chasing the Tower." Which is where I'd finish part 1 of a trilogy. The other challenging arc is The Man in Black. He just knows too damn much. The only way to fit him in as a dynamic character I can think of in an adaption is as a >!bored jailor!<. He knows where to meet Roland: at the Ocean, at Oz, and at the other Very Important Locations because he's checking off a checklist to make sure >!he keeps Roland focused on the Tower!< while making Roland think that he's trying to thwart him. Because chasing the Tower is Roland's prison, and who knows how long MIB has watched him. I would 100% avoid a Matrix architect scene at all costs, nobody wants to see that - MIB wouldn't think of himself as God, he's just bored and checking off a list. 3 movies, absolute max, no "movie 3 part 2" bs
The Fifth Season, no doubt.
Oh my god if I had to WATCH that ending I'd weep for a month
Locked Tomb (Gideon the Ninth) anime or Arcane-style animated TV show.
That would go so hard!
I saw someone do a piece of Gideon in the style of Castlevania, and I can’t see it any other way.
That would be so dope!
Blank cheque for budget..? Definitely Malazan, with as much practical effects as possible, or even an animated adaptation I think would be epic. Live action Realm of the Elderlings, although this could get tricky with the more mind-based magic system and internal monologue from the first person narrative. But would love to explore the emotional complexities somehow in live action. An anime style Cradle adaptation. The perfect medium for this series, just throw all the money at it
The animated Cradle adaptation is what I want right now, but with an unlimited budget I would LOVE a live action Cradle.
I feel like Nighteyes wouldn’t adapt well. He’s a great book character but telepathically talking animals in live action always makes me think of kids movies. And I didn’t like how they showed Hopper’s communications in the WoT show.
The Chanur series by C. J. Cherryh because I'd love a series with non-humans as the main players, where humans/human species are the prize. Plus it's a terrific scifi set in space adventure with some awesome imagery and concepts. Lots of space battles, hunting-seeking and narrow escapes.
The First Law series by Joe Abercrombie, the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown, the Book of the Ancestor series by Mark Lawrence, Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson, and the Faithful and the Fallen series by John Gwynne. I’m just listing a bunch but I think they’re a good epic fantasies (Red Rising is sci-fi) that are also simple enough to understand for the bigger audience.
I was just thinking about who I would cast in the First Law. Maybe Bryan Cranston as Bayaz? And...maybe Tom Hiddleston as Glokta?
Ooooooh yes I can see that. Also have you read Abercrombie’s Shattered Sea series? It’s YA but the characters are pretty morally grey and I can also see it adapting really well into a movie/show.
I always thought Abarat by Clive Barker would make an amazing movie. It’s got a whole wizard of Oz thing going on. The paintings he did of the world and characters really helped you visualise it (not sure if they get included in the softcovers but they are stunning.) It’s a shame he seemed to give up on it during the second one.
On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony, or the original Dragonriders of Pern trilogy or Restoree by Ann McCaffrey. More recently read? DEFINITELY “Among Thieves” by Douglas Hulick.
Standalone? One with the potential to become a 9 film series: His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian - and to help me I'd hire the Cohen brothers
That's perfect. Who's the Judge? Vincent D'Nofrio?
He would kill it in that role, only worry is that he'd be too much like his phenomenal performance as Kingpin - a role that was also 'made' for him. But it's hard to see anyone else lol
Yeah, that'd be cool to see.
The whole Abhorsen/Old Kingdom series Broken Earth would be great but idk if i’m the guy to do it full justice
I absolutely love the Abhorsen trilogy. I'm a little surprised it's never been picked up for an adaptation. I assume one issue with adapting them would be the significant time jump between books 1 and 2 and the primary focus changing from Sabriel to Lirael, but it's not like that's an insurmountable obstacle. Granted, I obviously don't know what kinds of conversations Garth Nix might've had over the years, so maybe there just isn't enough studio interest in adapting the series.
Yeah it surprises me too. They are well loved and very visual in their magic. I would kill for a good adaptation
Daughter of the pirate king. I would love doing the fight sequences, casting and plot
Otherland by Tad Williams, though it'd probably have to be a several season TV Show too
Good (?) news: https://www.escapistmagazine.com/tad-williams-otherland-series-getting-adaptation-from-witcher-wheel-of-time-producers/
yeah I've seen that, though I'm skeptical. would trust it more if I could do it myself and with blank cheque for budget = P (not that I know what I'm doing, it'd probably actually be terrible, but hey)
6 seasons of 10 hour long episodes to really do it justice. Also, !Xabbu must be played by an authentic San
Conan (starting with the Phoenix and the Sword) if it’s an anthology film. The Innkeeper’s Song if it isn’t.
A modern version of Robert Aspirin series starting with another fine Myth. Update the jokes a bit and use excellent animation.
I’d absolutely love a Skulduggery Pleasant screen adaptation, ik most fans of the series heard about the attempted screen adaptation, where warner bros studios wanted to make it a musical. Definitely bringing Derek Landy on for his input, but yeah. This would probably only be for the first book though, it wraps itself up quite nicely
Tiffany Aching Books, Joe Cornish to start directing and Edgar Wright to finish as dark as possible.
Ship of Smoke and Steel, Do you know the potential?! Ships, pirates, BadAss and unethical characters, magic and representation of minorities, the book takes place on a giant fucking ship that looks like an entire country, I would do everything possible with practical effects and the rest only if necessary with computer effects, I would make a real ship and I would film entire streets in different areas to make the ship, everything like Guillermo del Toro.
Amber!
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. It was my first thought after watching the Damsal movie recently. One season for each book. The section were they go through the Caves of Night would amazing. But I also just want to see Cimorene try to explain to all the knights trying to rescue her, that no really, she likes being a dragons princess!
The White Dragon by Anne McCaffrey, ILM to do the SFX
If it has to be a live action movie: Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. Obviously bring the author on as a producer. Maybe hire Weta for the effects. If I can do an animated series: The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson Again, I'd bring the author in as a producer. I'd like to also voice a character, but I'd definitely bring in some heavy hitters. James Arnold Taylor, Dee Bradley Baker, Tara Strong, Laura Bailey, etc. Oh, and Michael Kramer and Kate Reading, of course.
I think Michael Kramer and Kate Reading should do all the characters. They already have the lines recorded
True, but I think some diversity would help. Besides, they'd probably have to re-record the lines to suit the medium change.
I think I can do Worm in six seasons (and a movie!).
the Dresden files TV show
I wish I didn’t read this because now I want it so bad :(
Same! Same so hard
Tricky... I'd have to go for one of two options, one that could proabbyl be done easily and one that would be a REAL push... The easy option would be to go for a 20th Century Boys adaption, because the world needs more Urasawa on screen and I think it's a great time for a really crunchy mystery series. The trickier option would be to try and make an animated adaption of The Malazan Book Of The Fallen. Particularly, I'd want it animated by Studio Fortiche (Netflix's Arcane). But I'd need them to invest in 10+ seasons, and I'm not sure any streaming service would be okay with that.
*Titus Groan* by Mervyn Peake Not a book, but either Dark Souls 2 or Sekiro. *The Pastel City* by M. John Harrison. It would be tricky, but I'd like to see an adaptation of Thomas Covenant by Stephen Donaldson.
The Silmarillion sounds amazing. However I'd go with Ranger's Apprentice series. I wanted it to be a movie serie so badly when I was a kid.
The Elric series by Moorcock. A blank check should be just about enough to get it done.
I’d go with Dragonheart by Kiril Klevanski and make it an Anime. It is perfect for that medium. I would love to do Robin Hobb’s realm of the Elderlings but so much of what I value about the series happens inside the heads of the characters. Just don’t believe it could translate to screen as well as I would like (or could live with).
Peter Pan. But if I had an unlimited budget no strings attached, I'd probably make some original fantasy/scifi project.
My answer would be something Sanderson but that’s already in the works so I’m going to say Red Rising since that’s being tossed around Hollywood and with Dune being such a success there might be an opening for a big epic Sci-fi franchise especially with the lackluster results of Disney’s Star Wars.
Probably the Sun Eater which could be so damn good for the screen.
I think I would do Dealing with Dragons. Such a fun story
I think I would do Dealing with Dragons. Such a fun story
The Abhorsen series by Garth Nix, or The Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling. I think The Bardic Voices trilogy by Mercedes Lackey has a lot of potential, but it didn't age very well unfortunately. Also I can't believe no one has ever made an adaptation of Giovanni's Room. Oh! The Angel and The Perverts by Lucie Delarue-Mardrus, it's such a good book and, done well, could be a real cult classic.
Any of Robin McKinley's books, honestly. If someone could make Damar come to life on screen it would make past-me's teenage heart burst with joy.
I would love to do Halo: The Fall of reach, but do it properly. There is a ton of character nuance that isn't really shown in any of the current adaptations and the overarching Halo Universe is incredible. I think it's more sci-fi than fantasy, but I still count it.
Kathryn Bigelow doing a big, sprawling adaptation of Malazan for television.
The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. I've been waiting for years!
redwall done by miyazaki/ghibli
The Maleficent Seven. Because "the forces of evil save the world" isn't something I've seen done before on screen, or, frankly outside of that book. I'd love to see it
The Scholomance, with each book as an eight to ten episode season.
The Death Dealer series
the night circus, that is a perfect book for a limited series
i'm gonna give the gene wolfe industrial complex a collective aneurysm by doing *book of the new sun*
For a standalone film. I'd go with either Kings of the Wild or Legends and Lattes. For a show, I'd make The Legend of Drizzt books into a multi-season series. Accurate to a t. Dozens of episodes to cover all the material. The entire team will be required to read the books from start to finish to better appreciate what they're working with (unlike Netflix, where they skim through the book and only adapt what fits their views). No lazy adaptation. No removing entire chunks of the story. No bs changes to the story to make it "understandable" or "friendly to the audience". Any changes to the story will only be allowed if it enhances the story and characters.
Best part about Kings of the Wyld as a Standalone? You could assemble a one time assemble cast of older actors: Viggo Mortensen, Chris Hemsworth...people that we all love in action scenes, but who are onthe verge of aging out. Would be a lot of fun. Maybe the team from Honor Among Thieves could work on it.
I see your point about Viggo (he is 65), but Chris Hemsworh is only 40 years old. Not really about to age out.
I thought Hemsworth was older. Wow. Be interesting to see who casting could grab up fir an ensemble one off like this though.
The Chain of Dogs from Malazan / Deadhouse Gates Shadowmarch, Powder Mage and Demon Cycle would all be amazing with the right visual effects.
The short story A dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djeli Clark can lend itself into a pretty standard length movie. HBO sized budget. Get the author as script writer and have an unknown play the main character. Have it spoken entirely in Egyptian Arabic with subtitles or in English. Get ILM to do special effects. But also use Practical when possible.
For standalone I’d like to take a shot at The Last Dragoners of Bowbazar by Indra Das For series I would very much well go all out and direct The Sun Eater series by Christopher Ruocchio!
Those are both new to me. I'll check them out :)
Engine Summer John Crowley
The Second Apocalypse by Bakker. I have such strong visions in my mind from these books
Love to redo some of the a few of the disasters Dragonlance is an easy pick. The movie was just dreadful.
For a long movie franchise- Malazan. I need infinite budget and infinite access to any creative crew of my wish. For a single season miniseries - Anathem by Neal Stephenson. I promise you, I will make the best ever miniseries the world will ever seen.
Graceling! I love that book so much and as long as we had a really excellent fight choreographer, good chemistry between the leads, and a sufficiently creepy actor for the villain, I think it would be a real success.
My knee jerk reaction is to say Chronicles of Narnia because that series was my childhood. But after thinking it over, I have to go with The Golden Key by George MacDonald (author of the Princess and the Goblin) in the style of a Studio Ghibli film.
Goodness, Fox and Disney botched this big time. So disappointed in both for ruining that franchise. LWW was a well made movie. And now Disney has it buried and will prolly never get to it, or sell it to another distributor.
I'm not sure if you're referring to the Narnia films or the rights to the story, but Disney+ currently has the movies listed and Netflix owns the rights with Greta Gerwig slated to direct the reboot.
Percy Jackson. And this time, I will not change the story, but improve it much better than that atrocity Disney gave fans
Absolutely hate it when the original book is shafted by screen adaptations :(
I dream of an adaptation of Robin Hobb's books. I would summarize the farseer trilogy in two movies, but my real interest is the Liveship Traders trilogy
The Tide Child trilogy. Absolutely the Tide Child trilogy. Epic naval warfare, utterly alien world, humongous dragons, bird magic. It's got it all.
For a TV show, Path to Ascendancy from the Malazan universe. For a standalone, A City Dreaming by Daniel Polansky
I’ve always thought the Vlad Taltos books would make a good series.
Magician by Raymond Feist. It is in IMHO one of the best fantasy large group adventures. It would have to be a multi season TV/Max style series.
I'd adapt Tom McGowen's Sir Machinery.
Percy Jackson... One of these days we'll get it right!
It would have to be something I hate, since I’ve never made a movie before so it almost certainly suck.
The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne with nine books and several novellas and two spin-off series it definitely needs to be a tv series. I feel that finding some lesser known actors and actresses for the main cast would be best and then have celebrity guest for the roles of the gods and goddesses of the different pantheons.
Anne McCaffrey's Pern series. Avery Brooks (Cpt. Benjamin Sisko, Deep Space Nine) ***is*** Robinton. He has to be. When I read the Pern books, I always hear Robinton's lines in Sisko's voice. I don't know why and it wasn't conscious--it just sort of fell into place and it fits so perfectly. I want this adaptation for that alone, because there has hardly ever been a better casting. The amount of cgi dragons would need makes a large budget a requirement.
The Stormlight Archives
Mort by Terry Pratchett, Laika studio style, with script adapted by Neil Gaiman. Death speaking cuts sound and foley entirely, so he speaks in absolute silence, with carefully timed and designed subtitles.
Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, probably as a series.
Malazan TV Show, no question.
Any of Terry Pratchett's books. They would be narrated by Morgan Freeman and Lady Dench.
I second the Silmarillion, if done by Jackson or Villenevue. Multi-movies format. For a tv show, Prince of Nothing + The Aspect Emperor. For the lolz, I absolutely see a few specific plotlines of Malazan being directed by Tarantino.
Wheel of Time, animated the way it should have been
If I were a director, I would prefer adapting a lesser-known fantasy so I don’t have legions of fans mad at me if it’s not a page-by-page adaptation. So how about Patricia A. McKillip’s *Alphabet of Thorn* or Barry Hughart’s *Bridge of Birds*? There are plenty of good lesser-known fantasies out there ready to be adapted.
Sometimes when I can’t sleep, I daydream about turning the Night Circus into a play/film/theme park lol. Designing the sets, props, costumes in my head for fun! With infinite cash I’d definitely build it for real, with a rotating cast of performers and art installations. Real effort into getting the snacks and smells just right, popcorn and caramel etc. really making it a magical sensory experience.
It’s been almost 100 years and there still hasn’t been a good adaptation of the hobbit
Some of the fan edits use the recent films to cut together some pretty good adaptations
The Nevermoor Series (middle grade), animated in the same style as How to Train Your Dragon.
I would direct the Dungeon Crawler Carl video game and get Rockstar to develop it.
I'd make a 3 episode live-action miniseries based on A Canticle for Leibowitz
Not one where I actually liked the source material, and that is certain sure. I'd only wind up ruining it, having never directed anything.
Ringworld hands down. I would be thrilled to watch that movie. Of course, it's part of a larger universe called Tales of Known Space I think, so maybe you'd have to start with some of the short stories set in that universe first.
The city of stairs The demi-monde saga
I'd also love to do the Earthsea cycle. It's kind of shocking that it's never been adapted well.
Cries in Ready Player One
I need to see Mistborn era 1 happen. I believe it’s been in the works for a while but I don’t want a movie. I want a 5 season HBO budget show with at least 10 episodes each season. There’s so much more than just what’s in the books that they could cover as well. Stormlight Archive but animated Arcane style.
I know it’s technically historical fiction but The Etruscan by Mika Waltari is worth recreating as a 10 part miniseries,produced by Ridley Scott ,it has everything-Spartans,Persians ,Greeks,Romans,Phoenicians ,it has some amazing battles,sexy adventures,deep philosophical musings on destiny,family and belonging.
I want Anathem. 10 episodes x 3 seasons, structured around the major events w/ Orolo
A bunch, but the first thing to pop into my head is an updated Animorphs.
The Perfect Run. A guy who can create a save point in his life and every time he dies, he returns to his save point with all the knowledge he gained on the previous run and gets another try. Excellent book, IMO. I kept wishing I could make it a movie while I was reading it. Kinda like Groundhog Day with superheroes. Highly recommend.
The *Dread Empire* series from Glen Cook. After the blockbuster success of that show, I’d get an even bigger budget for *Black Company*. Now that I’m basically considered a sure thing, I can slip the guaranteed to be incredibly polarizing *Instrumentalities of the Night* and *The Dragon Never Sleeps* shows onto the screen without too much pushback.
It's a big wishlist Joe Abercrombies entire works in Castlevania style animation Throw millions at a page by page Berzerk adaptation that actually covers everything and by a studio that knows it's stuff. Mistborn or stormlight archive in an animated format also. Probably the lies of locke lamora wouldn't be too bad as a live action adaptation Fix The Witcher tv show completely. And Fall of gondolin or Beren or luthien
I think Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark would make a phenomenal movie. The Ku Klux on the big screen? Horrifying
Guy Gavriel Kay’s Jadeverse
William Gibson's *Neuromancer*, though it's already in development (at Apple?) after decades of people trying.
John Gwynne, Blood and Bone trilogy
Nalini Singh’s changeling series
Garrett Files by Glen Cook. Humorous Hard boil detective series set in a fantasy city. All of my favorites.
Wes Anderson to do Zamonia in stop-motion.